


The Start of Forever

by ReaderShawna



Series: Foreververse [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Series 3 rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:53:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 43,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28235733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaderShawna/pseuds/ReaderShawna
Summary: This is a series 3 rewrite of Doctor Who if Rose had managed to stay with the Doctor. I get a lot of inspiration from the fanfiction Run With Me series by mltrefry. However, I am not going to copy their series. I will be coming up with my own ideas.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler
Series: Foreververse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2151960
Comments: 25
Kudos: 129





	1. The Consequences

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first time writing fanfiction. If you have any helpful suggestions then please let me know. Also, I am American so if there are any mistakes about British culture or language please let me know. I'm always open to learning knew things. Thank you!!

The breath was knocked out of Rose as she slammed into the white wall. She laid on the ground gasping. Every gasp was accompanied with a sharp pain in her chest.

“Rose!” the Doctor yelled, running across the room towards her. He crushed her against her chest. An involuntary whimper escaped her lips. The Doctor heard and gently pulled away from her.

His eyes roamed her body before settling on her arm that had been crushed between their bodies. The wrist was very swollen and bent at an odd angle.

“Rose. Is it just your wrist or does it hurt anywhere else?” His voice was so gentle. As hard as Rose tried she couldn’t answer. Her ribs hurt so much every time she breathed in or out.

The Doctor must have seen her struggle to respond because he quickly stood before picking her up and carrying her back to Tardis.

XX

He made quick time and before she knew it they were in the med bay of the Tardis. He set her gently on the medical table.

He gently rolled the sleeve of her hoodie up to get a better look at her wrist. He searched his pockets for his sonic. The Doctor quickly scanned her and read the results.

Rose was too delirious to notice any of this. All she could focus on was the intense pain originating from her ribs, her wrist, and her ankle which had begun to throb at some point during the trip to the Tardis.

Rose opened her eyes and immediately closed them again.

Why is it so bright? Rose tried to ask but all she could manage was a small grunt. Instantly she felt a hand on her forehead and a muffled sound came from above her. She opened her eyes to see a blurry outline slowly coming into focus. It was the Doctor. He was talking but she couldn’t focus on his words.

Rose closed her eyes and allowed the darkness to consumer her.

XX

The next hour passed as the Doctor worked to heal Rose as best as he could. He reset Rose’s wrist then passed the sonic screwdriver over it a couple of times, healing it as best as he could.

Then he scanned the sonic screwdriver over Rose’s ankle and ribs a couple of times. After that, he meticulously wrapped her wrist, ribs, and ankle in a gauze bandage.

All that he needed to worry about was Rose’s concussion now. She had hit the wall pretty hard and while he was certainly not happy about her being hurt he was extremely happy that she was still alive and was going to get better.

And, ok, he was even more happy that she had stayed with him. Because above all else he wanted to be with Rose and he was an extremely selfish old man who didn’t want her to leave him ever. But she was going to one day. He dreaded that day. Luckily, that day was not today.

He slumped into the chair beside Rose’s makeshift bed. The glasses were removed to allow for him to scrub a hand down his face.

The Doctor sat straight to gaze at Rose. _Would she regret this?_ he wondered. _Staying with me. She gave up so much just for me. Her own mother, and Mickey, and a chance to get to know her dad like she deserved. But she chose to stay here with me. A broken old man. Why would she do that?_

The bitter thoughts ran rampant through his mind. But one thing rang clear as day. She chose to stay with him. She had chosen him over everyone else.

He spent the next several hours waiting for Rose to wake up, occasionally scanning her head with the sonic screwdriver. Constantly checking on the concussion.

Usually, he would never wait but this was for Rose and it was the least he could after everything she had done for him over the last several years.

XX

Rose woke up gradually. First her fingers twitched, then a low sound escaped her lips, and finally her eyes flutter open and close. It was so bright. The Tardis realized this and adjusted the lights to better accommodate her.

“You can open your eyes now,” The Doctor’s low voice filled her ears. She cautiously followed his instructions and was relieved to not recieve a headache from the attempt.

She rolled her head over to look at the Doctor who was looking at her with a worried frown on his face. She tried to quirk her lips into a smile for him and murmured, “Hello.”

He smiled gently back at her, “Hello. You had me worried there.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to worry you.” She honestly hated worrying him. He had enough to think about without me adding stress to that pile.

“It’s fine.” He pushed himself out of his chair and pulled the Sonic out from his jacket and scanned her head before double checking the results, nodding to himself an ever present frown marring his face

“Doctor,” Rose got his attention. “What wrong?”

“Well, you have a sprained ankle, a broken wrist, 2 fractured ribs and a concussion for starters.” She winced. “ For another, you” He trailed off with a conflicted look on his face.

“What, Doctor,” She asked.

He looked up at her and there was even more raw pain etched into his face. “You’ll never be able to see her again.”

“I know,” Rose replied. Her voice wobbled and there were tears in her eyes that he refused to shed because Rose knew that the Doctor would only blame himself. So she wouldn’t cry. Not until she was alone where she knew her tears couldn’t hurt him.

Yes, she wanted this. To be with him forever. And she would never regret her decision to stay but she was still going to miss her mother very much.

Rose sniffed and told him “I’m never going to leave you. Never. Okay?” He nodded before pulling her into a loose hug, careful not to crush her right arm or her ribs. She tried her best to hug him back but she still felt so weak.

After a moment he allowed her to lay back down. “Would you rather lay in your bed? I can carry you there. You really shouldn’t walk until your ankle is fully healed.”

Rose nodded, gently and closed her eyes. She felt one arm go under her legs and sat up so the Doctor could put his arm around her back. He lifted her effortlessly and she rested her head against his shoulder while he made the quick walk to her room.

Once there, he settled her onto the pink bed and helped her to get under the covers. “Do you need anything? You should probably eat.” Rose’s nose scrunched up in disgust. Her stomach churned at the thought of food. “Just something simple. Maybe some toast.” The Doctor coaxed.

Rose nodded her head, reluctantly. The Doctor left the room in search of the galley. Rose stared at the ceiling of her room and felt tears begin to burn. She couldn’t cry now. The Doctor would be back any second and she had already decided not to make him feel any more guilty about this than he already does.

But no matter how much she tried to push them away the tears began to stream down her face. She heard the door open and tried to wipe away the tears away before he could see them but it was too late.

The Doctor rushed to her side and set the plate with toast and a mug of tea on her bedside table. His hand brushed her cheek, wiping away the tears. But the tears just kept coming and she couldn’t seem to do anything about them.

The Doctor sat on the edge of the bed, patiently waiting for her to calm down. After several minutes the tears slowed and Rose got her breathing back under control.  
“I’m sorry,” the Doctor, murmured to her.

Rose shook her head as hard as she could, “Don’t be sorry. I chose this. I want this.”

“You want to be in pain? Rose, this is all my fault. You should have gone with with you mother.” Before he had finished talking Rose was pushing herself into a sitting position.

“’s not.” She grabbed his hand. “’s not your fault. I want to be with you. Forever. I already told you that.” They gazed into each others eyes before the Doctor looked away.

Rose rested her hand against his cheek in an attempt to get him to look at her but her refused. Instead he stood up, breaking the connection, and grabbed the mug and plate off the table.

“Here. You need to eat.” He handed the plate to Rose. Rose looked at the toast. Raspberry jam was spread across the top of the perfectly toasted bread. She picked it up but only managed a couple bites before she felt sick.

Rose set the remaining toast back on the plate and reached for the mug. The smell of her favorite tea, a raspberry and earl grey tea blend they had found on an astroid bazaar, wafted up her nose. She downed the whole mug as quickly as she could.

When she was done she set the mug on the nightstand. The Doctor was staring at her. They sat in silence just looking at one another for a few minutes.

The Doctor cleared his throat, abruptly, “I should let you get some rest.” She nodded slowly before laying back down.

XX

Several hours passed and while Rose passed that time in a dreamless sleep the Doctor passed that time in the console room, using the Tardis to scan the universe. Searching for the impossible. As much as Rose didn’t regret staying with him she deserved the chance to give her mum a proper goodbye.

XX

_“Once the breach collapses, that’s it. You will never be able to see her again. Your own mother!” The Doctor’s face is very close to Rose’s. His eyes are wide and panicked. But Rose is calm in the face of his fear and desperation._

_“I made my choice a long time ago, and I’m never going to leave you. So what can I do to help?” He has to understand. This is Rose’s choice, not his. Yes, she will miss her mum but not nearly as much as she will miss him._

_The computer announces “Systems rebooted. Open access.”_

_The Doctor’s face shifts to one of acceptance. He’s not willing to send her away again and he doesn’t have the time to argue with her._

_"_ _Those_ _coordinates over there, set them all to six. And hurry up.” His yell doesn’t phase Rose and she calmly follows his instructions, taking the yellow button off as she goes._

_"We’ve got Cybermen on the way up.” She informs him._

_“How many floors down?”_

_“Just the one.”_

_“Levers operational.” The computer says. The Doctor and Rose look at each other, smiling._

_"That’s more like it. Bit of a smile. The old team.” Rose says._

_“Hope and Glory. Mutt and Jeff. Shiver and Shake.”_

_“Which one’s Shiver?” Rose questions, teasingly._

_“Oh, I’m Shake.” He responds in a matching tone while handing Rose one of the Magmaclamps. They walk to opposite ends of the room. “Press the red button,” the Doctor helps her._

_They both walk to the levers. “When it starts just hold on tight. It shouldn’t be too bad for us but the Dalek’s and the Cybermen are steeped in Void stuff. Are you ready?”_

_“So are they.” Rose says, nodding towards the window where Daleks are flying._

_“Let’s do it.” Rose and the Doctor push the levers up and dash for the Magmaclamps, grabbing on before the suction of the void can become too strong._

_"Online,” the computer says._

_“The breach is open. Into the void. Ha!” The Doctor’s glee is contagious and Rose and the Doctor both smile at each other while holding onto the Magmaclamps for dear life._

_“Offline,” the computer announces in the same pleasant tone as before. Rose’s lever had shifted down._

_“I’ve got to get it upright.” Rose says, letting go of her clamp and falling onto the lever. The Doctor watches all of this with a look of horror on his face. He can’t do anything to help her. Please, Please let her be alright, he prays silently._

_Rose pushes the lever into the correct position. “Online and locked.”_

_The pull of the void becomes stronger again but Rose is closer to the void and the pull is stronger for her than it was before. She holds on for minutes before her fingers become to sore and she cant any more._

_She falls towards the void and darkness consumes her._

Rose gasps awake. Her heart is beating so fast she is surprised it’s still in her chest at all. Someone is holding her shoulders. The Doctor. He is speaking to her. “-breathe. You can do it. Deep breaths.” She follows his instructions and forces herself to breathe deeper. She calms down gradually and grabs his arms while she does so.

The Doctor sits on the end of Rose’s bed. She flips the covers off of herself and launches herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a vice-like grip. He wraps his arms around her too. It hurts her ribs to move this much and her head is pounding. But she doesn’t care right now. All she wants is to be wrapped up in his arms forever.

Minutes pass and she still refuses to let go of him so he shifts them to be seated at the top of the bed.

“Are you alright?” He asks, already cursing his idiocy. Of course she’s not alright. She’s crying and hurt and she clearly had just had a nightmare. What kind of question is that? So he asks a new one before she can answer, “Do you want to talk?”

“I…” Rose pulled back and looked into his eyes, lost in thought. She nodded before leaning her head on his shoulder. She tells him about her dream and how much it scared her. Knowing that if she hadn’t managed to wrap one leg around the lever for the few second that she had she would have gone into the void. Never to be seen again.

She finished telling him about her dream and his arms tightened around her, comfortingly. They sat in silence for a while. Rose was just beginning to doze off again when the Doctor spoke.

“The void didn’t get you. Your here. With me. And…” He looked down at her, “I’m so glad that you’re okay.” Rose can see the raw fear in his eyes before he looks away. “You should get some more sleep.”

Rose vigorously shakes her head, “I can’t,” she tells him.

“Rose.”

“I don’t want to have a nightmare,” she interrupts him. “Besides I thought that you aren’t supposed to sleep with a concussion?”

The Doctor pulls out his sonic and scans her head again while saying, “You can as long as someone keeps an eye on you. And you need sleep so that you can heal.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You need to,” he tells her, firmly.

She looks at him and asks in a small voice that he could never say no to, “Stay.”

The Doctor nods his head in agreement and helps rose get back under the covers before standing. Rose moves to sit back up but stops when she notices that he is just taking off his shoes, suit jacket, and tie.

He lays on the bed beside Rose and gazes at her while she tries her best to go back to sleep. It takes nearly half an hour but she manages it.

XX

The next several weeks pass with very little variation. Rose sleeps for most of the day and eats when the Doctor brings her food. He stays with her until she falls back asleep and if he stays a bit longer sometimes then no one else needs to know it.

While Rose sleeps in her room he spends the hours in the console room scanning for any cracks. He finds several but none that match his needs. When Rose is having a nightmare the Tardis lets the Doctor know and he spends several hours with Rose after each one.

The only variation from the norm happened about a week after the Battle of Canary Wharf when Rose asked to go to her mums flat to grab what she wanted to keep.

The Doctor had asked if she wanted to have her name removed from the list of the dead and all she responded with was, “Why? It’s not like I have any one left there waiting for me.” He decided not to argue with her.

They spent the whole day sorting through her mother’s things. In the end, Rose only grabbed the photo albums and a couple of sentimental items, like her mums favorite mug and Rose’s old baby blanket.

At the end of the day Rose was both physically and mentally exhausted. The Doctor hadn’t allowed her to do much moving but this was the longest she had been awake for a week and it was taxing. Not to mention all the tears that had been shed. She tried not to cry in front of the Doctor but she couldn’t seem to control her tears. And she rather enjoyed his comfort.

That night ended with them back in the vortex and the Doctor comforting Rose for several hours before she fell asleep resting against him. The Doctor fell asleep not long after that.


	2. Saying Goodbye

The weeks passed into a month and Rose was beginning to get antsy. They spent all of their time on the Tardis. They didn’t go anywhere.

“Rose you need time to heal,” the Doctor told her, again. 

“I feel fine,” she argued, again.

They went back and forth about this several times, never making any real progress in the argument. And so they continued to do nothing. 

Rose would never complain about spending time with the Doctor but she was used to having adventures and exploring new places. The Doctor would hear none of this. In truth, he was just as ready to start exploring as Rose was. But he was also worried that something would happen to her.

He was also spending as much time as he could in the console room, scanning for a crack. But he couldn’t tell Rose this. He didn’t want to get her hopes up just to crush them if he couldn’t get a message through. 

So the argument continued. Again and again. Rose’s ankle had healed completely. It was only a little sore when walking now. Her wrist was also almost healed. 

Her ribs were another matter. It still hurt to breathe deeply sometimes. The Doctor did his best to heal her with the sonic screwdriver but he could only do so much. 

Rose spent most of her days in the Tardis library or her room. There wasn’t much to do because the Tardis was taking the Doctor’s side. She kept hiding any rooms where there might have been a risk for Rose. 

This left Rose with very little access to anything. Every morning she would get up and make breakfast for the Doctor and herself. The Doctor would scold her for walking on her injured ankle. And then they would eat, sometimes in silence but not very often.

After breakfast, the Doctor would leave to the console room. Rose would sometimes follow but most of the time she either went to her bedroom or the library. She passed the days in relative silence, either reading or watching telly or crying. 

XX

A week into the second month of doing nothing the Doctor finally found a crack that would work for his purposes. It wouldn’t last for very long but it was better than nothing. 

He ran off in search of Rose. He found her in the library reading ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ by Charles Dickens. This had become one of her favorite books after meeting the author. The Doctor would often read it to her. 

“Rose,” he called, gently in an effort not to startle her. Rose dragged her eyes away from the book to gaze at him. 

“Yes?” She asked.

“I have a surprise for you,” the Doctor told her.

“Where are we going?” Rose jumped to her feet, eager to finally be on an adventure again. 

“We’re not going anywhere.” Rose started to protest but he continued before she got far, “I found a small crack. Just big enough to get a message through.” Rose looked at him, eyebrows knitted. “A message for you mother. You can say goodbye.”

Rose stared at him, uncomprehendingly before understanding filled her face. “That’s what you have been doing?” The Doctor hesitantly nodded. Rose smiled and rushed at him with a hug. “Oh, Doctor. Thank you.” Her eyes were already beginning to fill with unshed tears but she had a small smile on her face. 

They walked to the console room where the Doctor got everything ready. Before she knew it her mother was standing in front of her. Mickey and Pete were standing a bit behind her. 

Her mum looked just how she remembered her. The same died bottle-blonde hair, same dark eye make-up. Tears were streaming down her face faster than she could wipe them away. 

“Where are you?” Jackie asks, hesitantly. 

“We’re on the Tardis. There’s one tiny little gap left in the universe, just about to close,” the Doctor informed Jackie. “It takes a lot of power to send this message through. We’re in orbit around a supernova. I’m burning up a sun just so she can say goodbye.” 

Rose looked at him, shocked. She had no idea that it would take that much power to get through. And he was willing to do it. For her. She reached over, grabbing his hand squeezing it in appreciation. 

“You look like a ghost,” Jackie said, sobbing.

“Sorry. Hold on.” He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the Tardis console, hoping to solidify the image. 

“Can I…?” Jackie asked, reaching a hand out towards Rose. 

The Doctor looked back, sadly shaking his head, “We’re just an image. No touch. Sorry Jackie.”

"Why don’t you come through properly, then?” Jackie demanded, outraged. 

“The whole thing would fracture. Both of the universes would collapse.”

“Oh,” Jackie trailed off, looking uncertain.

“Where are we? Where did the gap come through?” Rose questioned, curiously. It looked like a beach.

“Bloody Norway,” Jackie responded, annoyance written all over her face. “We drove for weeks. Just to end up in Norway of all places.”

“Norway?” The Doctor questioned, brows furrowed.

Mickey walked closer and said, “We’re about fifty miles out of Burgen. It’s called Darlig Ulv Stranden.” 

“Dalek,” the Doctor and Rose asked at the same time, confused and worried.

“No. Darlig,” Mickey responded. “It translates to Bad in Norwegian. This is Bad Wolf Bay.”

Rose and the Doctor shared a shocked look. Bad Wolf had always done her best to look out Rose and here she was popping up once again.

“How long have we got?” Jackie injected before Rose and the Doctor could question them. 

The Doctor checked the reading on the screen. Frowning, he looked at Jackie and said, “About two minutes.”

“I’ve only got two more minutes with my baby girl?” Greif was etched into Jackies face before even more tears escaped down her cheeks. The Doctor nodded his head, silently. 

Tears continued to streak down Rose’s and Jackie’s cheeks. “You’re gonna be a big sister,” Jackie informed Rose.

“I am?”

Jackie nodded in confirmation, “I’m three months gone. We don’t know the gender but I’ll be sure to tell them all about their big sister. Because she saved the world. Her and her mad alien.”

“Mum,” Rose gasped out, reaching her hand towards Jackie.

“What happened to your arm,” Jackie demanded turning flashing eyes on the Doctor. 

“Nothing,” Rose rushed to explain. “It happened when we were closing the breach. I just sprained it. It’s almost healed completely now. Himself just wants me to keep it wrapped.”

Jackie nodded reluctantly before straightening and looking at the Doctor. “You keep her safe. You hear me?” She demanded. The Doctor nodded in agreement. “Your all she has now. I don’t want you leaving her behind.”

“Ok, Jackie. I promise.”

“Rose, what I said about you changing, I…,” Jackie trailed off.

“It’s ok, mum,” Rose interrupted. Jackie nodded her head, more tears streaming down her face. Pete put an arm around her, hoping to comfort her as best as he could in this circumstance.

“Rose, sweetheart, I love you. I don’t want you to ever forget that,” Jackie cried.

“I love you, too, mummy,” Rose cried back. Just then the image in front of Roses eyes faded away. 

A wave of fresh tears rolled down her face as she fell to the ground, crying. The doctor kneeled beside her and pulled her into a hug. They sat there, the silence only being broken by Rose’s sobs, for several minutes. 

“Thank you, Doctor,” Rose finally managed to gasp out.

“You’re welcome, Rose.” Rose pulled away wiping tears off her cheeks, leaving them red and splotchy. She looked at the Doctor’s face and noticed that he had several tears running down his face as well. She lifted her hand and wiped them away for him.

The gazed at eachother for several minutes before the Doctor’s gaze shifted to somewhere behind her.

“What?” He muttered. Rose turned around and noticed a figure in a white wedding dress facing away from them. _That’s not right_ , Rose thought. A queasiness settled in her stomach.

The women turned around after hearing him. “Oh!” She looked to be about her mothers age with flaming red hair.

“What?” The Doctor, repeated.

“Who are you?” The bride, demanded with an angry look on her face. Rose’s tears dried quickly in her shock.

“But…” The Doctor trailed of uncertainly.

“Where am I, eh?” She demanded, even more incensed when she didn’t recieve an answer.

“What?”

“What the hell is this place?” The bride demanded, again.

“What?” The Doctor said, still at a complete loss of words. _This is impossible. She can’t do that. That doesn’t make any sense._ Thoughts rushed through his mind. _How did this happen?_


	3. The Runaway Bride Part 1

“You can’t do that. I wasn’t. We’re in flight. That is, that is physically impossible! How did…” the Doctor stuttered becoming increasingly confused. He stared at the bride with wide eyes. 

“Tell me where I am. I demand you tell me right now, where am I?” The angry bride demanded, again.

“Inside the Tardis,” the Doctor responded, distracted.

“The what?” 

“The Tardis,” the Doctor repeated.

“The what?” 

“The Tardis!”

“The what?”

“It’s called the Tardis.” The Doctor was sounding incredibly stressed and confused. Rose was still sitting on the metal grating of the Tardis whipping her head back and forth to keep track of the conversation between the bride and the Doctor. Amusement started to bubble up inside her. This shouldn’t be so funny and she really shouldn’t be laughing. Rose pushed the laughter away but she couldn’t push the smile away.

“That’s not even a proper word. You’re just saying things,” the bride yelled.

“How did you get in here?” The Doctor demanded and walked around the console to stand in front of the bride pointing at her. 

“Well, obviously, when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who’s paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh my God, she’s finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it. And what about you? Why are you crying.” The bride turned to Rose.

Rose opened her mouth to respond but the Doctor interrupted, “Who the hell is Nerys?” Rose didn’t think the Doctor had ever looked this confused before.

“Your best friend,” the ginger snapped before turning back to Rose. “Are you alright? What did he do to you? You can tell me.” 

“He didn’t do anything to me. I live here,” Rose responded.

“Hold on, wait a minute. What are you dressed like that for?” The Doctor interrupted. _Seriously_ , Rose thought. _Why would someone be wearing a wedding dress_? 

Before Rose could even hope to help the Doctor, the bride had done the impossible and sounded even more outraged than before, “I’m going ten pin bowling. Why do you think, dumbo? I was halfway up the aisle! I’ve been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away, and then you, I don’t know, you drugged me or something!”

“I haven’t done anything!” the Doctor, argued.

“I’m having the police on you! Me and my husband, as soon as he is my husband, we’re going to sue the living backside off you!” The bride stood back up from where she had kneeled down beside Rose. As she stood she noticed a set of doors and purposefully made her way towards them. 

Rose pushed to her feet, gasping at the sharp pain in her chest. When she noticed where the bride was going she called, “Wait. Don’t open the…” The bride pushed the doors open. “Doors,” Rose trailed off.

Whatever she had been expecting it wasn’t a star in the middle of being burned up. The bride took a step away from the door with a bewildered look on her face. 

“We’re in space,” the Doctor explained walking towards the ginger. Rose trailed behind him. “This is my spaceship. It’s called the Tardis.” Rose and the Doctor stood directly behind the now silent bride.

“How am I breathing?” she asked, faintly.

“The Tardis is protecting us,” The Doctor responded.

“Who are you two?”

“I’m the Doctor and this is Rose. You?” The Doctor responded eager to finally be getting some answers now that the bride had stopped her yelling.

“Donna,” she responded.

“Human?” He questioned, cautiously.

“Yeah. Is that an option?”

“Well, it is for me,” The Doctor told her.

“Your an alien,” Donna said, sounding as if she couldn’t comprehend it.

“Yeah.”

“What about you blondie,” Donna asked.

“I’m a human,” responded Rose. This didn’t seem to make Donna any happier than if she had found out Rose was an alien. _There was just no pleasing some people._

“It’s freezing out here,” Donna said, wrapping her arms around herself. Rose pulled her back by the shoulders while the Doctor closed the doors.

The Doctor ran back to the console while ranting about impossibilities and understanding everything. But Rose wasn’t listening. She was getting more and more queasy and light headed as time passed. Rose dropped into the jump seat and closed her eyes. She only opened them when she heard a loud _smack_. 

“What was that for?” cried the Doctor, holding a hand to his cheek. He looked at Rose, confused, but Rose just shrugged. She really hadn’t been paying attention.

“Get me to the church,” Donna yelled.

“Right! Fine! We don’t want you hear anyways, do we Rose? Where is this wedding?” The Doctor glanced at Rose briefly before running back to the console and preparing to fly the Tardis.

“Siant Mary’s, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, The Solar System.” Donna’s voice got louder and louder with each place she named. _She could give mum a run for her money_ , Rose thought.

Donna turned towards Rose while the Doctor completed his little dance around the console. She walked to Rose slowly before leaning down and whispering to her, “Are you sure he didn’t kidnap you, too?” Donna asked, glaring at the Doctor’s back. “If he did, you can tell me. My husband and I’ll help you.”

Rose laughed softly before responding, “he didn’t kidnap me. I really do live here.”

“Then why were you crying? And what’s wrong with you now?” The bride demanded.

“I was crying because I just lost my mum,” a fresh wave of tears gathered in Rose’s eyes. Donna had the decency to look a little ashamed but Rose continued, “and I’m just feeling a little sick. I’ll be fine.”

Donna stood straight when she felt the jolt that announced a landing. Although Donna had never been on the Tardis before she clearly had figured out what the bump had meant. She ran out the doors before stopping abruptly upon noticing her surroundings. She turned around, once again outraged, “I said Chiswick. What sort or martian are you? Where’s this?”

But the Doctor wasn’t listening. Instead he was saying, “Something's wrong with her. The Tardis, it’s like she’s recalibrating. She’s digesting,” the Doctor spared a glance towards Rose before continuing. “What is it? What have you eaten? What’s wrong? Donna? You’ve really got to think. Is there anything that might’ve caused this?” 

The Doctor continued to ramble. Meanwhile, Rose was still feeling rather queasy. She closed her eyes hoping to stop the queasiness. 

When she opened her eyes a couple of minutes later the Doctor was gone. Instead of trying to follow like she normally would, Rose slumped into the seat. “What’s wrong, old girl?” she asked, while stroking a bit of coral behind her.

The Tardis didn’t respond. The queasiness was completely gone now. Now her only concern was the sharp ache in her ribs. _Why is the Tardis so sick?_ Rose thought. _The Doctor thinks that she ate something. The only new thing was Donna. But Donna’s human and human’s have definitely been on the Tardis before. So what’s different about Donna?_

Rose was snapped out of her thoughts by the Doctor running back inside and slamming the doors shut behind him. “Robo-Santa’s have got Donna. We need to get her back!” The Doctor flew around the console pressing buttons and pulling levers.

“Robo-Santa’s? Like at Christmas? Is it Christmas?” The Doctor nodded in agreement. _This is my first Christmas without mum._ The thought floated through Rose’s mind almost absently but it shook Rose to the core. She had always been with her mum for Christmas.

“Rose, come here. I need you to monitor this for me. Just use this lever to adjust it if needed. And press this button when I say to. I set up the monitor so that you can see outside.” The Doctor rushed out the explanation and Rose nodded. 

“What are we doing?” Rose asked. The Doctor didn’t respond instead he raced to the doors and threw them open again. “Oh, for crying out loud.”Rose hadn’t looked at the monitor so the sight of cars driving alongside the Tardis shocked Rose. Rose focused her attention back on keep everything steady. 

She adjusted the lever several times so that the Tardis could keep pace with the taxi that Donna was in. 

Her name being called pulled her out of her thoughts. “Do you trust him?” Donna shouted.

“With my life,” Rose responded, without missing a beat. Rose didn’t tell her that he also scared her sometimes with some of the stunts that he pulled. Because while they scared her she always knew that he was doing the right thing.

“You heard her. Now jump!” the Doctor, yelled. Donna jumped in, knocking the Doctor to the ground. “Now, Rose!” Rose slammed her hand on to the button. The Tardis doors slammed shut and then rocketed up into the sky. 

XX  
  


They landed on the roof of a building. Smoke filled the Tardis. The Doctor grabbed Donna and dragged her out of the Tardis, calling for Rose to follow. She did, coughing into her arm. The Doctor grabbed a fire extinguisher and started using it on the small fires that had sprung up around the console. 

“The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn’t really do that much flying. We’d better give her a couple of hours,” The Doctor said as he exited the Tardis.

Meanwhile, Rose walked up to Donna and asked, “Are you ok?” 

“Doesn’t matter,” Donna responded looking down. 

“Did we miss it?” the Doctor asked coming up behind them.

“Yeah,” Donna said quietly while walking to the edge of the building.

“Well, you can book another date,” the Doctor suggested, hoping to cheer her up.

“Course we can.”

“You’ve still got the honeymoon,” the Doctor tried again. Rose shook her head at him hoping to convey that he was not helping.

“It’s just a holiday now,” Donna responded before moving to sit on the edge of the building.

“Yeah,” the Doctor replied for once at a loss of words. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Donna told him.

“Oh? That’s a change,” the Doctor looked very happy to hear that he wasn’t to be blamed this time. Rose walked over and sat on the left of Donna.

“Wish you had a time machine, then we could go back and get it right.”

Rose and the Doctor looked at eachother before the Doctor responded, “Yeah, yeah. But even if I did, I couldn’t go back on someone’s personal timeline.” At Rose’s look he quickly said, “apparently.” 

The Doctor took off his overcoat and walked towards Donna. “God, you’re skinny. This wouldn’t fit a rat,” Donna complained to the Doctor when he wrapped the jacket around her. 

The Doctor sat down on her right before exclaiming, “Oh and you’d better put this on.” He dug around in his pocket before removing a gold band. Rose raised an eyebrow at him. He didn’t notice.

“Oh, do you have to rub it in?” Donna said, testily.

The Doctor for all of his genius looked helplessly confused. “Those creatures can trace you. This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden,” he explained. The Doctor slid the ring onto Donna’s finger. “With this ring, I thee bio-damp.”

“For better or for worse. So, come on then. Robot santa’s, what are they for?” Donna responded.

“Ah, your basic robo-scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They’re trying to blend in. We met them last Christmas,” the Doctor told her.

“Why, what happened then?” _How could someone not know what happened last year?_ Rose wondered.

“Great big spaceship hovering over London? You didn’t notice?” Rose asked. 

“I had a bit of a hangover,” Donna told them.

“We spent Christmas Day just over there, the Powell Estate, with Rose’s family,” the Doctor pointed to the building while looking across at Rose. She smiled at him sadly and he returned the gesture before turning to question Donna. “Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the Tardis? I don’t know. What’s your job?”

“I’m a secretary,” Donna told him.

“It’s weird. I mean, you’re not special, you’re not powerful, you’re not connected, you’re not clever, you’re not important,” the Doctor was muttering to himself while using the sonic screwdriver to scan Donna.

“Oi,” Rose exclaimed. “Don’t be rude.” 

The Doctor’s face turned apologetic but Donna turned to Rose and asked, “Do you ever want to punch him in the face?”

Rose shook her head, “He’s not usually this rude.”

Donna turned back to the Doctor and yelled, “Stop bleeping me!”

“What kind of secretary?” the Doctor asked curious.

Donna told Rose and the Doctor about starting a job at HC Clements and how she met Lance there. Rose thought the coffee thing was really cute and told Donna so. 

The Doctor interrupted her story to ask, “How long ago was this?” 

“Six months ago,” Donna responded with a sappy smiling .

“Bit quick to get married isn’t it?” the Doctor asked.

Donna told them about Lance’s constant nagging. And while that didn’t seem to ring quiet true Rose decided to let it go. Rose looked across at the Doctor. He wore a matching look of disbelief. He smiled at her and Rose responded with a tongue touched smile. 

“What about you two?” Donna asked.

“What do you mean?” they both responded.

“How long have you two been together?”

“Oh, we’re not…” Rose started then looked away blushing. It was true though. As much as she wished they were together they weren’t and they weren’t likely to get together any time soon. Maybe ever.

“Yeah, we’re not together,” the Doctor interjected.

“Yeah, right,” Donna responded, rudely. “I’ve got eyes, ya know.”

“Anyways, what does HC Clements do?” the Doctor redirected Donna’s attention back to the situation at hand.

“Oh, security systems. You know, entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it’s a posh name for locksmiths,” Donna responded before pushing herself into a standing position.

“Keys,” the Doctor mused aloud before standing in time to offer a hand to Rose. He helped Rose stand up.

“Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it’s time to face the consequences. Oh, this is going to be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian boy,” Donna told him while walking away from the edge.

“Yeah. I’m not from Mars,” the Doctor tried to explain but Donna wasnt listening.

“Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone’s going to be heartbroken,” Donna complained.

XX

Heartbroken is not the word that Rose would use to describe everyone’s mood at the reception. Instead everyone seemed to be having a great time. The music was loud and everyone was dancing. No one seemed to have cared that the bride had gone missing.

If this had been Rose’s wedding, Jackie would not have stood for this. It was ridiculous that they didn’t seem to care. 

The music cut out when the DJ noticed Donna standing in the entryway. A blonde girl and a dark skinned man were the last to stop dancing. They turned around.

“You had the reception without me,” Donna demanded.

“Donna, where were you,” the Dark skinned guy asked, walking up to her. _Was this Lance?_ Rose wondered. _What is Donna’s fiance doing dancing with someone else when Donna was missing?_

“You had the reception without me?” Donna asked again.

“Hello, I’m the Doctor. And this is Rose,” the Doctor interjected. He started to move forward but Rose grabbed his arm holding him in place. When he looked back at her she shook her head and he stepped back again.

Donna turned around and told them, “They had the reception without me.”

The Doctor responded, “Yes, I gathered.”

“Rude,” Rose chided and an apology flashed across his face quickly.

The blonde that Lance had been dancing with stepped forward and said, “Well, it was all paid for. Why not?” 

Donna turned to her, eyes flashing with anger, “Thank you, Nerys.” _So this is Nerys. I can see why Donna doesn’t like her._

An older lady stepped forward, “Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end. I’m on Earth? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what’s the trick, because I’d love to know.” _This was Donna’s mom? Why wasn’t she more worried about Donna disappearing?_

All at once everyone began yelling questions at Donna. Rose felt anger build up in her. How dare they treat Donna like this. And just as Rose was about to start yelling, Donna burst into tears and everyone immediately quieted. Lance took Donna into his arms. Donna looked back at them and winked.

Rose laughed and said, “Oh, she’s good. If she hadn’t done something, I was going to.”

“I know,” the Doctor responded.

“Oh, you do?” Rose asked, eyebrows raised.

“You get this look on your face right before you are about to tell someone off,” the Doctor informed her. The party resumed around them as they made their way over to the bar. 

Rose looked out at all the dancers. It looked like fun and it had been a while since Rose had had any fun. Dancing always made her think of her first Doctor. _The world doesn’t end ‘cause the Doctor dances._ Rose thought. Just as she was gathering up her courage to ask the Doctor to dance, he spoke in her ear to be heard over the music, “Can I borrow you phone?”

“What?”

“Your phone. Can I borrow it. I want to look up HC Clements,” the Doctor clarified.

“Oh, um, sure.” Rose grabbed her phone from her right front pocket and handed it to him. She looked back at the crowd of dancers.

She didn’t look back at him until she heard a sharp intake of breath. He turned the phone towards her. The Torchwood logo was on her screen. Rose’s eyes widened and her breathing quickened. Torchwood was the reason she had lost her mother.

The Doctor stood and pulled her into a tight embrace. “It’s going to be alright. We’ll figure this out. We always do,” He whispered in her ear. Rose nodded back, tight and quick. 

The Doctor looked behind him before turning back to her with a small smile on his face, “Do you…?” 

“What?”

“Do you want to dance?” He asked and she responded with a brilliant smile. Not for one second had she dared to think that he would ask her to dance. Usually Rose was the one to have to initiate anything between them. And while they had certainly been closer with this regeneration. The Doctor had reserved most of that closeness for hand-holding, hugs, and flirting that couldn’t be taken seriously. 

They danced to several songs, all at a slower pace because of Rose’s still sore ribs. _I wish this would never end._ After several songs, the Doctor noticed a camera man sitting in the corner. 

He stopped dancing and pointed it out to her. They made their way together through the crowd and to the camera man.

The Doctor managed to convince the camera guy to show him the footage. When he was done watching it he said, “Can’t be. Play it again?” The camera guy restarted the video. 

“But,” the Doctor pauses. “that looks like Huon Particles.”

“What are Huon Particles?” Rose asks concerned.

“That’s impossible. That’s ancient. Houn energy doesn’t exist anymore, not for billions of years,” the Doctor pulled off his glasses, rubbing between his forehead between his eyebrows in deep thought. “So old that,” he looks up horrified, “they can’t be hidden by a Biodamper!”

“Oh, god,” Rose mutters. The Doctor runs towards a set of doors but Rose turns in a circle scanning the room for Donna. 

“Donna!” Rose yells running towards her. Donna looks at her confused. “They found you.”

“But Martian Boy said I was safe,” Donna protests.

“He was wrong. The biodamper doesn’t work. We need to get everyone out.”

“It’s all of my family.” Donna looks around horrified.

“Out the back door,” the Doctor yells as he runs past them. Rose grabs Donna’s arm and drags her after the Doctor. The Doctor throws open the back doors before slamming them back closed. “Maybe not.”

They look over and notice more robo-santa’s standing outside the large window. Rose notices that one of them is holding a remote. Her head whips around to look at the Christmas trees in the center of the room. She whispers to herself, “the Christmas trees.” 

Donna hears and asks, “What about them?”

“They kill,” the Doctor responds. But Rose is already across the room yelling for everyone to get away from the trees and physically dragging some of the children away.

Donna’s mum is yelling, “Oh, for God’s sakes, the man’s an idiot. Why? What harm’s a Christmas tree going to. Oh.” The baubles on the Christmas tree had suddenly lifted off the tree. _That’s not what happened last time,_ Rose thought. The baubles began to shoot around the room and exploding. Panic spread quickly and everyone began to run around screaming. 

Rose scanned the room for the Doctor. He was standing next to the sound system. He yelled, “Oi! Santa! Word of advice. If you’re attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver, don’t let him near the sound system.” 

He shoved the sonic screwdriver into the sound system and turned it on. The sound system emitted a loud unnatural sound. Rose dropped to her knees, clapping her hands over her ears and squeezing her eyes shut. When the sound stopped Rose hesitantly looked around the room. The robo-santa’s were in pieces on the ground and the Doctor stood above them searching for something.

Rose stood shakily and walked towards him. Donna beat her there. 

“…Someones taken control,” she heard the Doctor saying as she walked close enough. 

“Nevermind all that. You’re a doctor. People have been hurt,” Donna said.

“Nah, they wanted you alive. Look,” he tossed the now harmless bauble at her. “They’re not active now.” 

“I’m just saying, you could help,” Donna said, annoyance creeping into her voice and onto her face.

“We got to look at the bigger picture.” The Doctor was still focused on the Robo-santa. “There’s still a signal,” he crowed, happily.

The Doctor ran out front and Rose and Donna followed after him quickly.

“There’s someone behind this, directing the robo-forms,” The Doctor was telling Donna when Rose finally made it outside. Her chest was beginning to hurt more as time passed. But she wasn’t going to complain or the Doctor would probably never let her out of the Tardis again.

“But why is it me? What have I done?” Donna asked.

“If we find the controller, we’ll find that out. Oooh! It’s up there. Something in the sky,” the Doctor muttered. “I’ve lost the signal. Donna, we’ve got to get to your office. HC Clements. I think that’s where it all started.” He noticed Lance who had followed them outside, “Lance! Is it Lance? Lance, can you give us a lift?”


	4. The Runaway Bride Part 2

The ride to HC Clements passed quickly and before Rose knew it they were up and elevator and on the floor that Donna and Lance worked on. 

“To you lot this might just be a locksmiths, but HC Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute,” the Doctor explained as they exited the lift. 

“Who are they?” Donna asked.

“They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf,” the Doctor told her. At Donna’s blank look he continued, “Cyberman invasion.” Still nothing. “Skies over London full of Daleks?” Lance rolled his eyes and Rose frowned. 

Something must have clicked for Donna because she replied, “Oh, I was in Spain.”

“They had Cybermen in Spain,” the Doctor told her. The Doctor and Rose glanced at eachother. _How does someone miss all of that?_

“Scuba diving,” Donna responded rudely.

“That big picture, Donna. You keep on missing it. Torchwood was destroyed, but HC Clements stayed in business. I think someone else came in and took over the operation.”

“But what do they want with me?” Donna asked. _Good question_ , thought Rose.

“Somehow you’ve been dosed with Huon energy. And that’s a problem, because Huon energy hasn’t existed since the Dark Times. The only place you’d find a Huon particle now is a remnant in the heart of the Tardis.” _The heart of the Tardis?_ Rose had looked into the heart of the Tardis a little over a year ago in an effort to save the Doctor. It had worked but Rose didn’t remember her time as Bad Wolf. She only knew what the Doctor had told her after she had pestered him about it for several weeks. _If Huon particles are in the heart of the Tardis, what does this mean for her?_

 _“_ See? That’s what happened. Say, that’s the Tardis.” The Doctor picks up a mug. “And that’s you.” He picks up a pencil. “The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetized and whap.” He starts shaking the mug and pencil vigorously. before dropping the pencil inside the mug and saying, “You were pulled inside the Tardis.”

“I’m a pencil inside a mug?” Donna asked exasperatedly.

“Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up,” the Doctor tells her.

“Rude,” Rose tells him.

The Doctor isn’t listening. He’s already moved on. “Lance? What was HC Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?”

“I don’t know, I’m in charge of personnel. I wasn’t project manager. Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?” Something about Lance’s response puts Rose on edge. _Why is he so defensive?_

The Doctor had moved to the computer and was looking for information. Rose walked towards him to read over his shoulder. “They make keys, that’s the point. And look at this. We’re on the third floor,” he mutters before straightening and moving towards the lift. The doors open with a ding. 

“Underneath reception, there’s a basement, yes? Then how come when you look on the lift, there’s a button marked lower basement? There’s a whole floor which doesn’t exist on the official plans. So what’s down there, then?” the Doctor asks.

“Let’s find out,” Rose says smiling at her. 

The Doctor smile back down at her and says, “Alright, Lewis.”

“Are you telling me this buildings got a secret floor?” Lance demands.

“No, I’m showing you this buildings got a secret floor,” the Doctor responds, all hints of a smile gone when he looks at Lance.

“It needs a key,” Donna points out.

“We don’t,” the Doctor responds, putting his hand in his pocket and pulling out the sonic screwdriver. His other hand reaches for Rose’s. Rose automatically grabs it. “Right then. Thanks, you two. We can handle this. See you later.”

“No chance, Martian. You’re the man who keeps saving my life. I ain’t letting you out of my sight,” Donna says, walking into the lift. They all turn to look at Lance expectantly. 

“Going down,” the Doctor tells him.

Lance looks around nervously before saying, “Maybe I should go to the police?” _He really wants to leave his future bride right now_ , Rose thought disgusted with him.

“Inside,” Donna demands. Lance walks into the lift reluctantly.

“To honor and obey,” The Doctor jokes. Rose lifts and eyebrow at him and he looks away. 

“Tell me about it,” Lance mutters. Rose rolls her eyes. _Men._

“Oi,” Donna yells. Both men avoid looking at either of the women.

XX

They exit the lift to see a long concrete hallway. The ground is wet and there isn’t much to see. Outside of the lift rests three Segways.

The Doctor notices them and says cheerfully, “oh, look. Transport.” He grabs one of them and hops onto it before turning to Rose and looking at her expectantly. 

“There is not enough room for me to get on that with you!” Rose exclaims. Donna and Lance had already hopped onto the other two Segways. 

“It’ll be a little tight,” the Doctor agreed. He wouldn’t look her in the eyes and his cheeks looked a bit red. Before Rose could comment on that he continued, “You can stay here if you want.”

This was clearly an attempt to goad her. Rose just glared at him before getting on the Segway behind him. She wrapped her arms around him tightly to help keep her balance. There was no room in between Rose and the Doctor. Rose hid her face in his back breathing in his scent deeply. She knew her cheeks must have been painted red. 

The Segway lurched forward but Rose kept her eyes closed. When Donna and the Doctor started laughing she joined in. They weren’t moving very fast. In fact, Rose was positive that she and the Doctor had run faster then this before. It just seemed so ridiculous to be riding these Segways. But Donna was in a wedding dress, and Lance was not wearing the right shoes to run in. 

Rose was also grateful to not have to run. While her ankle and wrist had healed, her ribs were still sore and she had not done any running in a while. 

Rose peeks out from where she was hiding her face and catches the look of bewilderment on Lances face. _This man is such a spoilsport_ , Rose thought. _Hasn’t he ever had fun?_

When they reach a door marked Torchwood they stop and get off the Segways. The Doctor spins the wheel on the door then pulls it open. There is a ladder leading up. Rose tries to look up but it is just darkness.

“Let me get my bearings,” the Doctor says as he walks towards the ladder.

“You’d better come back,” Donna stops him.

“I couldn’t get rid of you if I tried,” the Doctor replies before looking at Rose. “Besides I wouldn’t leave Rose.” He climbs up the ladder and if Rose stares a little too long at his retreating backside then he doesn’t need to know that.

“Donna, have you thought about this? Properly? I mean, this is serious! What the hell are we going to do?” Lance says. 

Rose on half-heartedly listens to the conversation. She is anxiously waiting for the Doctor to return but a smile tugs at her lips when she hears Donna respond with, “Oh, I thought July.” Lance goes quiet after that. 

Finally the Doctor climbs back down and tells them, “Thames flood barrier right on top of us. Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath.”

“Of course,” Rose mutters, smiling at the Doctor. He smiles back.

“What, there’s like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?” Donna asks.

“Oh, I know. Unheard of,” the Doctor responds voice laced with sarcasm. Rose can’t help but to laugh and the Doctor throws another smile her way. Before walking towards another door.

Behind that door is a laboratory with several tables spread throughout the room. The Doctor walks up to the nearest one searching his pockets for his glasses. He shoved them on his face as he leaned down to look at the contents of the table.

Several vials and tubes were full of a strange bubbling liquid.

“Oo, look at this. Stunning!” the Doctor exclaimed

“What does it do?” Donna asked,

“Particle extrusion. Hold on. Brilliant. They’ve been manufacturing Huon particles. Course, my people got rid of Huons. They unravel the atomic structure.”

Rose wasn’t really listening to him. There was this sound. In the back of her head. While she was focusing on that the others conversation continued. She heard it in a sort of dim way. She could hear talking but not the words. The words weren’t important. The sounds was. It was a song. Rose was certain now. It was music. And it was so beautiful but also really faint.

The music got louder as the Doctor twisted the cap on a bottle full of the liquid. Rose is having an even harder time concentrating on the conversation happening around her.

“Oh, my God!” Donna exclaims. And not just because she was glowing. But because so was Rose. Much more faintly than Donna was but there was no denying the glow coming from Rose. The brightest glow came from her eyes which had turned a solid gold.

Rose’s attention is drawn away from the song as it fades again. The Doctor’s face fills her sight, “Rose.” He stares at her intently. “How did you do that?” Rose just shakes her head. She has no idea how any of this is happening. The Doctor continues to stare at her an intense look of horror on his face. 

Rose rests a hand against his cheek, “What’s wrong?” he shakes his head before pulling her into a hug. Rose is startled but wraps her arms around him anyways.

“Doctor, what’s wrong with her? Why was she glowing?” Donna demands.

“I don’t know.”

“Is she going to be ok?” Rose pulls back to look the Doctor in the eyes. 

“I…” For once, the Doctor looks to be at a complete loss.

“We’ll figure it out,” Rose interjects. “For now, let’s focus on Donna. I’m sure I’ll be fine for a little longer.”

The Doctor looks reluctant but pulls away from Rose completely. Rose does her best to not feel to disappointed but the truth is she already misses his touch.

The Doctor moves back to the tubes saying, “The particles are inert, they need something living to catalyse inside and that’s you. Saturate the body and then.” He pauses in deep thought before yelling, “ Ha! The wedding! Yes, you’re getting married, that’s it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle. Oh, your body’s a battleground! There’s a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine. Wham! go the endorphins. Oh, you’re cooking! Yeah, you’re like a walking oven. A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away. The particles reach boiling point. Shazam!” The Doctor is practically bursting with energy at this point. 

Meanwhile Donna is looking angrier and angrier with each word he says. Finally Donna can’t take it anymore and she slaps him. The Doctor looks completely lost and asks Rose, “What did I do this time??” 

“Are you enjoying this?” Donna answers for her before moving on, “Right, just tell me. These particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?”

“Yes,” the Doctor answers far to quickly for that to be the truth.

“Doctor, if your lot got rid of Huon particles, why did they do that?” Donna is a lot smarter than she seems. 

The Doctor pauses for a minute before sighing and responding “Because they were deadly.”

“Oh, my God.” Donna’s eyes are wide and she looks so scared. Rose goes over to her and rests a hand on her shoulder hoping to comfort the older woman.

“I’ll sort it out, Donna. Whatever’s been done to you, I’ll reverse it. We’re not about to lose someone else,” the Doctor rushes to say before Donna can begin to panic.

“Oh, she is long since lost,” A woman’s voice echos around the room. A wall slides up to reveal another room. In the room is a hole. The voice continues to talk, “I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!” 

Lance runs away. _Coward_ , Rose thinks. Robo-santa’s line the room. Simultaneously they raise their guns and point them at the Doctor, Rose, and Donna.

The Doctor runs to the hole and stands on the very edge of it. Rose’s heart speeds up and breathing gets hard. _Don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t fall_ is a running mantra in Rose’s head. _God, I hate holes_.

Rose hesitantly walks towards the hole, ignoring the conversation around her again. She didn’t get nearly as close to the edge as the Doctor did and yet her stomach still churned at how deep it looked. _How could the Doctor stand there so calmly?_

The music had gone back to being faint but Rose still noticed it. She stood completely still, closing her eyes and trying to concentrate on the words of the song. Except, they weren’t really words. It was something else.

She only opened her eyes when she felt the Doctor grab her arm and pull her back to Donna. The Doctor was saying, “If you’re the Empress, where’s the rest of the Racnoss? Or, are you the only one?”

“Such a sharp mind,” the Empress hissed.

“That’s it, the last of your kind. The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago. Billions. They were carnivores, omnivores. They devoured whole planets.” Rose’s stomach churned at the thought. 

“Racnoss are born starving. Is that our fault?” the Empress asked with a smile that said she didn’t care what they thought.

“They eat people?” Donna asked, horrified. Rose’s stomach churned again and she clamped a hand over her mouth.

“HC Clements, did he wear those, those er, black and white shoes?” the Doctor asked quietly.

“He did. We used to laugh. We used to call him the fat cat in spats.” Donna clearly had no idea where this questions was going but Rose did. The Doctor pointed towards the ceiling and Donna looked up but Rose refused to. If she did there was no way she was not going to be sick.

“Oh, my God!”

“Mmm. My Christmas dinner,” the Racnoss said with a disturbing twist of her lips.

“You shouldn’t even exist. Way back in history, the fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss they were wiped out.” Rose notices lance up on the balcony near the Empress. _Huh, maybe he isn’t a coward_ , Rose thought.

“Except for me,” the Empress tells them.

“But that’s what I’ve got inside me, that Huon energy thing. Oi! Look at me, lady, I’m talking. Where do I fit in? How comes I get all stacked up with these Huon particles?” Donna had seen Lance, too. She was trying to keep the Empress’s attention away from Lance long enough for him to do something. “Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me,” She demanded.

The Empress laughed and responded, “The bride is so feisty.” Lance grabs an axe that was laying on the ground and sneaking even closer to the Empress. _What is an axe going to do against her? The Empress is giant_ , Rose thought

“Yes, I am! And I don’t know what you are, you big thing, but a spider’s just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!” Donna commanded Lance.

Lance swung the Axe but stopped it before it could hit the target. The Empress swung around hissing. Lance and the Empress start to laugh. Donna looks around confused. Rose’s stomach drops at what this means.

“That was a good one. Your face,” Lance continues to Laugh. Anger boils up inside of Rose and she moves to step forward with her fists clenched. The Doctor grabs her arm shaking his head.

“Lance is funny,” the Empress comments.

“What?” Donna asks.

“I’m sorry,” the Doctor whispers to her.

“Sorry for what? Lance, don’t be so stupid! Get her!” Donna yells.

“God, she’s thick. Months I’ve had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can’t even point to Germany on a map,” Lance mocks. If it wasn’t for the Doctor’s hand on her arm she would have already been over there giving him a good old-fashioned slap. One that would make her mum proud.

“I don’t understand,” Donna says.

“How did you meet him?” the Doctor asks, quietly.

“In the office.”

Rose nods her head and said, “He made you coffee.” Something that had looked sweet and innocent not that long ago was in fact a plot to poison someone.

“What?”

“Every day, I made you coffee,” Lance said jeering.

“You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months,” the Doctor tells her. 

Comprehension starts to fill in Donna’s face, “He was poisoning me.” Rose removed the Doctor’s hand from her arm. He didn’t say anything when he saw that Rose was only going to comfort Donna.

“It was all there in the job title. The Head of Human Resources.”

“This time, it’s personnel,” Lance jokes. Rose jerks her head to look at him, burning a metaphorical hole into him with her glare. Lance gulps and looks away from her, feigning confidence again.

“But, we were getting married,” Donna tells him. Rose wraps an arm around her shoulder. 

“Well, I couldn’t risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavor Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap. Oh, Brad and Angelina. Is Posh pregnant? X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me. Dear God, the never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia. I deserve a medal,” Lance tells her, derisively.

The Doctor looks at him with fury burning in his dark eyes, “Oh, is that what she’s offered you? The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you, her consort?”

“It’s better than a night with her.”

“But I love you,” Donna whispered. Unshed tears are shining brightly in her eyes.

Lance laughs shaking his head and says, “That’s what made it easy. It’s like you said, Doctor. The big picture. What’s the point of it all if the human race is nothing? That’s what the Empress can give me. The chance to go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that, don’t you, Doctor?” If Lance was looking for understanding from them then he wasn’t going to get it.

“Who is this little physician?” the Empress asks Lance.

Lance tells her, “She said Martian.” He points at Donna when he says she.

The Doctor evades answering by saying, “Oh, I’m sort of homeless. But the point is, what’s down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What’s going to help you four thousand miles down? That’s just the molten core of the Earth, isn’t it?”

“I think he wants us to talk.” His tone is mocking but it doesn’t affect the Doctor. Rose clenches her hands into fists again.

“I think so, too.”

“Well, tough! All we need is Donna,” Lance yells. He clearly thinks he was in control here. But Rose knew that that was not very likely. Most likely the Empress would betray Lance when she thought she had gotten what she wanted.

“Kill this chattering little doctor man and his blonde friend,” the Empress says dismissively.

“Don’t you hurt them!” Donna yells pushing away from Rose to stand in front of the Doctor and Rose.

The Doctor tries to pull her back saying, “No, no, Donna. It’s all right.”

“No, I won’t let them,” Donna says. Determination shines in her eyes. Rose smiles.

“At arms!” the Empress commands. The robo-santa’s point their arms at the Doctor and Rose.

“Ah, now. Except,” the Doctor protests. 

“Take aim!”

“Well, I just want to point out the obvious.”

“They won’t hit the bride. They’re such very good shots,” the Empress tells him a patronizing smile spread across her lips. 

The Doctor manages to stutter out, “Just, just, just, just, just hold on. Hold on just a tick. Just a tiny little, just a little tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So reverse it, and the spaceship comes to her.” He digs through his pockets and pulls out the container of Huon Particles. Just before he turns the knob on the container he leans over and whispers in Rose’s ear, “Close your eyes.” Rose instantly obeys, closing her eyes tightly. When he twists the cap the beautiful song fills Rose’s head once more. 

Rose’s glow could easily be mistaken for Donna’s and her eyes are hidden behind her eyelids. The Doctor didn’t want them to know that Rose also had Huon particles in her.

“Fire!” the Empress yells, but she is too late. The Tardis is already materializing around them.


	5. The Runaway Bride Part 3

Inside the Tardis the Doctor runs to the console yelling, “Off we go!” Rose walks towards Donna and guides her to the jump seat. Donna sits down with a dejected look on her face. She staring at the console room blankly but doesn’t resist Rose’s efforts to comfort her. Rose doesn’t know what to say and she ignores whatever the Doctor is saying. It’s not very likely that it is something that will help Donna right now.

“We’ve arrived. Want to see?” the Doctor asks. He must sense that Donna was very upset. He is voice is quiet.

“I suppose,” Donna responds in a monotone voice.

The Doctor pulls the scanner around to take a look outside but pulls a exagerated face. “Oh, that scanner’s a bit small. Maybe your way’s best.” At his attempt at a joke, Rose smiles tightly at him. He purposefully strides towards the Tardis doors before stopping. Rose follows him always eager to see something new. She’s not exactly sure what they are going to be looking at but is excited nonetheless.

“Come on. No human’s ever seen this.” He tries to cajole Donna into some excitement. Donna doesn’t even glance at him. “You two’ll be the first,” he informs them.

In response, Donna tells him, “All I want to see is my bed.” However, she still trails after them to the doors.

The Doctor takes no offense as he usually would. Instead he says in a bright voice, “Donna Noble and Rose Tyler, welcome to the creation of the Earth.” With that dramatic statement he pulls open the doors to reveal a ton of clumps of rocks floating around dust. In the distance is the sun.

“We’ve gone back four point six billion years. There’s no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas. That’s the sun, over there.” He points to the sun. “Brand new. Just beginning to burn.” His voice is reverent. This is something no one really gets to see.

Rose is in just as much awe as he is. “I’ve seen the end and now I’m seeing the beginning,” she whispers but the Doctor hears and turns his head to smile at her. Rose smiles back before looking back out the doors.

“Where’s the Earth?” Donna asks.

“All around us in the dust.”

Donna sighs and her shoulders slump down further. “Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right. We’re just tiny.”

“No, but that’s what you do. The human race makes sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful, but only if it’s being observed.” The Doctor throws an arm around Donna, hoping to make her see just how spectacular humans really are.

“So I came out of all this?” Donna says, her voice starting to take on a quality that can only be described as awe. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah,” the Doctor isn’t looking at the disassembled Earth. He’s looking at Rose. Lance never looked at Donna that way. Suddenly, Donna is incredibly grateful that she met this martian and Rose. She wanted someone that would look at her like the Doctor was looking at Rose. “Isn’t that brilliant?” The Doctor asks.

A large rock floats passed. Donna points and says with a small laugh, “I think that’s the Isle of Wight.”

“Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in. Everything, piling in until you get…”

Donna and Rose finish the Doctor’s sentence for him, “The Earth.”

The Doctor straightens his stance and pulls his arm off of Donna’s shoulders and asks, “But the question is, what was that first rock?”

“Look,” Donna says while pointing at an oddly shaped spaceship that had appeared.

“The Racnoss.” The Doctors eyebrows knit in confusion. “Hold on. The Racnoss are hiding from the war. What’s it doing?” The Doctor runs back to the console of the Tardis. He fiddles with the controls on it.

“Exactly what you said,” Donna informs him. The rocks and the dust around them are being pulled towards the ship.

Understanding lights in the Doctor’s eyes. “Oh, they didn’t just bury something at the centre of the Earth. They became the centre of the Earth. The first rock.” A large bang emits from the console.

“What was that?” Rose asks, her stomach had started churning again. She made her way to the jump seat and sat down gingerly.

The Doctor runs back to the console and responded, “Trouble.” The Tardis is shaking furiously. Rose’s grip on the jump seat tightens but it does nothing fer her. Her grip ends up loosening and she falls to the floor. She manages to get her hands under her before she hit the floor. The Doctor and Donna are faring slightly better. The Doctor runs around the console trying to stop what ever is happening.

“What the hell’s it doing?” Donna demanded.

“Remember that little trick of mine, particles pulling particles. Well, it works in reverse. They’re pulling us back!” The Doctor is looking around frantically.

“Well, can’t you stop it? Hasn’t it got a handbrake? Can’t you reverse or warp or beam or something?” Donna yells. Rose tries to right herself but the Tardis is too shaky for her to get back up. The song is back. The same one from before. She tries to shake it away. Now is not the time to be distracted. She wants to help.

“Backseat driver,” the Doctor mutters before exclaiming. “Oh! Wait a minute! The extrapolator!” He pulls out the extrapolator from under the console. “It can’t stop us, but it should give us a good bump!”

The Tardis lands heavily. The queasiness and the song begin to fade away. The Doctor helps Rose to her feet, scanning her with his eyes. “Maybe you should stay here,” he tells her quietly. When she opens he mouth to protest he continues quickly, “You haven’t been yourself.”

“I’m fine,” Rose tells him.

“No you aren’t,” he responds. His eyes are panicked. “You’ve been completely dazed almost this whole time. You’ve hardly listened to a word I’ve said this whole time. Which isn’t like you. And don’t think I haven’t seen you holding you ribs.” Shame floods Rose’s body. she thought she had done a better job of hiding her pain. “I don’t want you getting hurt anymore.”

Rose tells him, “I’m fine and I’m helping.” She moves passed him and out the Tardis doors. She hears him release a frustrated growl but he follows her out. Donna follows behind him.

“We’re about two hundred yards to the right,” he tells them before walking away. “Come on!” Rose and Donna follow him.

“But what do we do?” Donna asks him as they walk down the hall.

The Doctor tells her, “I don’t know. I make it up as I go along. But trust me, I’ve got a history.”

Rose nods her head in agreement saying, “He really does.” They are now at another door marked Torchwood. The Doctor pulls out the stethoscope from his coat pocket. He puts it against the door, listening to something.

“But I still don’t understand,” Donna tells him. “I’m full of particles, but what for?”

“There’s a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but my people unraveled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss were stuck,” the Doctor rambles his explanation to Rose and Donna. He is so busy explaining and listening that he doesn’t notice two robots sneak up behind Donna and Rose. The robots slip a hand over their mouths and pull them away before they can alert the Doctor to their current predicament.

He continues, “They’ve just taken hibernation for billions of years. Frozen, dead, kaput. So you’re the new key. Brand new particles, living particles! They need you to open it and…” he looks up from what he is doing, “you have never been so quiet.” He turns around and notices that Donna and Rose are gone.

“Big mistake,” he whispers, the Oncoming Storm is making it’s presence known. His eyes are dark and his face is like stone. No one could kidnap Rose and not face the Timelords fury. When the sonic finally unlocks the door he swings it open. A robo-santa is standing guard there. The Doctor uses his sonic to disable it quickly.

XX

Rose is ensnared in some web beside Donna. On Donna’s other side is Lance. Rose had totally called it. Lance had clearly been betrayed.

Donna and Lance were arguing. Rose had stopped listening to them. Rose tried straining against the web but she couldn’t move at all. There was nothing she could do except wait.

“My golden couple, together at last. Your awful wedded life. Tell me, do you want to be released?” The Empress asked.

Donna and Lance answer simultaneously, “Yes!” Rose ignored them.

“You’re supposed to say, I do,” the Empress tells them. She either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care that Rose hadn’t responded.

“Huh. No chance,” Lance spat.

The Empress hissed back, “Say it!”

Lance looked around reproachfully before sneering, “I do.”

“I do,” Donna responded extra sweetly.

The empress looked at Rose expectantly. “I’m not a part of the couple,” Rose told her, mockingly. The Empress hissed at Rose. In responses Rose rolled her eyes but muttered, “ I do.”

“I don’t,” the Empress cackled. “Activate the particles. Purge every last one.” She said. The song appeared in Rose’s head again along with the queasiness and dizziness. Donna and Lance began to glow. Rose was glowing much lighter than either of them but there was no denying it. The Empress didn’t seem to mind. “And release!”

The Huon particles exited Donna and Lance before zooming down the hole. The same did not happen to Rose. Instead the particles just seemed to build and build. And with that came a blinding pain. Rose clenched her jaw shut before she couldn’t take it anymore and she screamed.

Donna and Lance looked at her in horror. “What’s happening to her?” Donna asked, her eyes wide with worry. Tears were pouring down Rose’s cheeks and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. Saliva pooled in her mouth before dribbling down her chin. Finally, Rose couldn’t take it anymore and she slumped in the netting holding her up. Her head drooped down and she looked almost dead.

The Empress continued to not care and said, “The secret heart unlocks, and they will waken from their Sleep of Ages.”

“Who will? What’s down there?” Donna asked, fear creeping into her voice. The Doctor was not here. Rose looked dead and she couldn’t move at all. What was she supposed to do in this situation.

“How thick are you??” Lance sneered at her.

The Empress answered Donna, “My children, the long lost Racnoss, now reborn to feast on flesh! The web star shall come to me.” Donna hears a noise coming from the hole in the ground. The noise sounds like it is getting closer. “My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web,” the Empress says.

Panicked, Lance yells, “Use her, not me! Use her!”

The Empress laughs and says with mock sympathy, “Oh, my funny little Lance! But you are quite impolite to your lady friend. The Empress does not approve.” The web around Lance suddenly snaps and he falls from the web and down the hole.

Donna watches in horror while yelling, “Lance!” He may have turned out to be a complete ass at the end but Donna still cared about him. She was going to marry him.

“Harvest the humans! Reduce them to meat,” the Empress yelled feeling victorious. “My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them. So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor man.”

The Doctor removes the robe and mask that he had stolen from the robo-santa. Fury burns bright in his eyes when he looks at the empress. “Oh well. Nice try.” He looks at Donna and Rose. “I’ve got you, Donna! Can you grab Rose as tight as you can?” Donna nods. Before with Lance she couldn’t move at all but now it was a bit looser. She manages to loop her arm through Rose’s arm. He points the sonic screwdriver at Rose and Donna.

“We’re going to fall!” Donna yells, panicked.

“You’re going to swing!” he corrects. “I’ve got you!” He holds his arms out in a position to catch them. The web gives way. Rose and Donna drop before swinging across the chasm. Donna screams but doesn’t let go of Rose who is still a dead weight. Instead of landing in the Doctor’s arms the web flies under landing the Doctor was standing on. Rose and Donna hit the ground hard. “Oh. Sorry,” he says, sheepishly.

“Thanks for nothing,” Donna mutters. She pushes the web off of her before hurrying to Rose’s side. Once there she checks for a pulse and breathes a sigh of relief when she feels a faint one.

“The doctor man amuses me,” says the Empress.

“Empress of the Racnoss, I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you and your children a place in the universe to co-exist. Take that offer and end this now.” In his voice Donna hears something that chills her to the bone. Something that is definitely not human.

“These men are so funny.” The Empress is clearly not taking him seriously. And that would be her downfall.

“What’s your answer?” Even in the face of his fury at what she had done to Rose, he was still giving her a chance to leave. Because it is the right thing to do. It’s what Rose would have wanted.

The Empress does not take his offer. Instead she says, “Oh, I’m afraid I have to decline.” Amusement is clear in her voice. Just like so many others, arrogance had replaced good judgement.

“What happens next is your own doing,” the Doctor tells her gravely.

“I’ll show you what happens next. At arms! Take aim! And…” The robo-santa’s do as she says.

“Relax,” the Doctor interjects. The robo-santa’s around them slump.

“What did you do?” Donna asked. She had made her way out from under the ledge and stood staring up at the Doctor.

“Guess what I’ve got, Donna?” The Doctor puts his hand in his pocket before pulling it and a remote control out of his pocket. “Pockets.”

“How did that fit in there?” Donna asked, incredulously.

“They’re bigger on the inside,” he informs her.

“Robo forms are not necessary. My children may feast on Martian flesh.” The Empress still believes herself to be the winner here.

“Oh, but I’m not from Mars.” The Oncoming Storm is back. But this time it is clear in his voice as well as his eyes.

“Then where?”

“My home planet is far away and long since gone. But its name lives on.” He pauses before saying softly, “Gallifrey.”

“They murdered the Racnoss!” the Empress cries outraged.

“I warned you. You did this.” The Doctor’s voice is still soft but it is also firm and unyielding. He removed some baubles from his pocket.

“No! No! Don’t! No!” the Empress wails. He throws the baubles in the air and they float there for a minute before he directs them around the room and down the hole. They make small explosions. Holes appear and water comes gushing through the holes. Screams can be heard over the sound of the water. “No! No! My children! No! My children! My children!”

Donna surveyed the destruction around her with wide eyes before yelling up at the Doctor, “Doctor! You can stop now!”

“My children!” the Empress continues to wail over the water.

The Doctor turns away from the scene of destruction. His hair is flat against his forehead and he looks every bit the Oncoming Storm that he had rightfully been named. But when he looks at Donna his shoulder slump and he says gently, “Come on. Time I got you out.”

He climbs down the stairs and runs to Rose. He slips his arms behind her back and under her knees. He lifts her carefully, looking at her as if she was the most precious thing in the Universe. Rose’s head falls against his shoulder. Her clothes and hair are soaked with water. They head up the stairs and out of the flooding room.

Behind them the Empress yells, “Transport me!”

XX

They climb up the ladder from before. The Doctor is extra careful with Rose. “But what about the Empress?” Donna asks.

“She’s used up all her Huon energy. She’s defenseless!” The Doctor tells her. Just then, the strange spaceship that had hung in the sky previously was blown to bits.

After a moment Donna says, “Just there’s one problem.”

“What is that?”

Donna doesn’t have his full attention. He is looking Rose over with the sonic screwdriver. She answers anyways, “We’ve drained the Thames.” The Doctor looks up startled and laughs softly.

XX

They make their way back to the Tardis. She looks the same as ever. Once inside the Doctor sets Rose down on the enlarged jump seat gingerly. No doubt the Tardis had made it bigger to better hold Rose. Rose and the Tardis had always had a strange bond that the doctor had never quite understood. It was as if the Tardis was very protective of her. There were even times when the Tardis would take Rose’s side in arguments between the Doctor and Rose.

He pilots the ship to Donna’s house. As the Tardis rocks about Rose begins to stir. Her whole body aches. None as much as her throat and ribs though. She pushes herself up weakly. The Tardis lands with a thump.

She looks at the Doctor who has noticed her waking up. He rushes over to her dropping to his knees. He pushes her damp hair out of her eyes. “Are you ok?” She nods her head slowly. “After this, I want to look you over in the med bay.” Rose sighs but nods her head in agreement. She had already expected this.

As much as Rose hated being poked and prodded, she knew that she should go to the med bay. For more than just the Huon particles mystery. Rose hadn’t tried to talk yet but she was sure it wouldn’t feel pleasant when she did. She’s not even sure if any noise would come out if she tried. And if she did succeed in talking, how much would it hurt? Her throat was more raw than Rose had ever remembered it being.

Rose pushes her self to her feet using his offered arm to steady herself. He doesn’t comment but she can see the worry in his eyes. When she goes to pull away his grip on her arm tightens. She raises an eyebrow at him but dosen’t comment. Instead they follow Donna out the Tardis doors.

“There we go. Told you she’d be all right. She can survive anything.” The Doctor pats the Tardis but is looking at Rose as he says this.

“More than I’ve done.” Donna comments.

The Doctor misunderstands and scans her with his sonic screwdriver. “No, all the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you’re fine.”

“Yeah, but apart from that, I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of,” Donna clarifies for him.

“I couldn’t save him,” the Doctor tells her. Rose squeezes his arm hoping to comfort him.

“He deserved it,” Donna said. At the Doctor’s and Rose’s raised eyebrows she concedes, “No, he didn’t.” She pauses before pointing over her shoulder, “I’d better get inside. They’ll be worried.”

“Best Christmas present they could have,” the Doctor tells her. Rose’s heart clenches at the thought. Through the window Rose sees the older woman from Donna’s wedding hug a man about the same age. “Oh, no. I forgot you hate Christmas.” Rose’s eyebrows raise. _Donna hates Christmas?_

“Yes, I do,” Donna replies.

Suddenly the Doctor’s face lights with mischief before saying, “Even if it snows?” He does somehting that Rose can’t see and the next thing Rose knows there is snow falling all around her.

Donna exclaims, “I can’t believe you did that!” The Doctor looks at Rose and Rose is reminded of their first Christmas together. Snow gets stuck in his hair in the same way it did then. Rose can almost pretend that her mum is there, too. And Mickey.

“Oh, basic atmospheric excitation,” the Doctor explains.

“Merry Christmas,” Donna says.

“And you. So, what will you do with yourself now?” The Doctor asks curiously.

“Not getting married, for starters,” Donna jokes but Rose can see that it isn’t a complete joke. “And I’m not going to temp anymore. I don’t know. Travel. See a bit more of planet Earth. Walk in the dust. Just go out there and do something.”

“Well, you could always…” the Doctor hesitates, unsure.

“What?”

“Come with us,” he offers. Rose’s heart clenches. _Could she do that? Travel with someone new? Maybe it would help. And Donna is brilliant. Maybe if Donna came with the Doctor would actually allow them to start traveling again._

“No,” Donna responds, quickly. Relief floods into Rose’s system. Immediately followed by guilt. As much as she thinks it could help her, Rose doesn’t think that she is ready to travel with someone new. She is still mourning. And while she would like to travel again. She’s not sure that she could handle anything more than beaches and shopping centers right now. Definitely not fit for a companion.

“Okay,” the Doctor responds, hurt.

“I can’t.”

“No, that’s fine,” the Doctor reassures.

Donna continues anyways, “No, but really. Everything we did today. Do you live your life like that?”

“Not all the time,” the Doctor protests. Rose rolls her eyes in responses. He is always getting them in trouble.

Donna tells him, “I think you do. And I couldn’t.”

“But you’ve seen it out there. It’s beautiful,” Rose protests now. Her voice is definitely raw but it doesn’t hurt as much as she thought it would. And as much as she didn’t feel up to having more people on the Tardis, she wants to understand how anyone could not want this life.

“And it’s terrible. That place was flooding and burning and they were dying, and he just stood there like, I don’t know, a stranger. And then he made it snow. I mean, he scares me to death.” Rose felt the Doctor flinch next to her. He hated being that person. And Rose hated it when people talked about him like that.

“Right,” the Doctor nods.

“Tell you what I will do, though. Christmas dinner,” Donna offers. “Oh, come on,” she encourages when they hesitate. This is definitely something Rose is not ready for. How can it be Christmas without her mum?

“I don’t do that sort of thing,” the Doctor tells her.

“You did it last year. With Rose. You said so. And you might as well, because Mum always cooks enough for twenty.”

Rose interrupts, “It’s my fault, Donna. It’ll be my first Christmas without mum. And I don’t think I’m ready to…” Donna nods her head in understanding.

“Am I ever going to see you again?” Donna asks.

“If we’re lucky,” the Doctor says, quietly.

“Just promise me one thing.” At his nod she continues, “You keep Rose around. I think she’s good for you.”

The Doctor looks down at Rose and she meets his eyes. There is something there that she can’t quite name but it warms her from the inside out. “Yeah, she is,” he tells Donna. “Thanks then, Donna. Good luck. And just be magnificent.”

Rose moves forwards and pulls Donna into a brief but tight hug. The Doctor and her walk into the Tardis. The Doctor sends them to the vortex before turning to Rose and saying, “Med bay. Now.”


	6. New Truths

Rose laid on the medical table in the Tardis’ med bay as the Doctor scanned her over with the sonic screwdriver and several other medical instruments that Rose did not recognize. While they waited for the results the Doctor checked Rose’s ribs. Rose hadn’t noticed earlier but her ribs didn’t hurt anymore. 

The Doctor applied light pressure to her ribs with a furrowed brow. There was no pain at all. Rose new that just hours ago her ribs had ached something fierce. But now there wasn’t even a slight sting. _What had changed?_

Rose sat up as the Doctor moved away from her. She pulled her shirt down but didn’t move away from the table. She watched the Doctor as he looked over her results. His glasses perched on his nose. He was so silent. Rose was used to him being loud and excited. This change was unsettling. He had hardly said a word since telling her to go to the med bay.

The continued silence was putting Rose on edge. _Was she going to die? Is that why he is being so quiet? The Doctor said that Huon particles were deadly. How long have they been in me? And why am I not dead yet?_

Finally the Doctor sighed and turned to Rose. He removed his glasses and scrubbed his hand across his face. _Oh, god,_ thought Rose. _What’s wrong with me?_

“Doctor?” Rose’s voice was soft and hesitant. _Did she really want to know?_ “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t respond right away. He removed his hand from his face and stared at Rose for several long seconds. His shoulders were slumped and he just looked plain exhausted. Nerves continued to build up in Rose with every passing second. “You’re not going to die.” 

Rose felt relief flood her system as the words clicked. She wasn’t going to die! But then why did the Doctor looked so sad? “Ok. That’s good.” She searched his face. “Right?”

“Right,” he repeated quietly bobbing his head up and down uncertainly.

“So, what’s wrong?” Why did he look so upset that Rose wasn’t going to die? Did he not want her around anymore.

The Doctor sighed and then replied still looking exhausted, “Um, you’re not going to die but…” He paused for a long second before continuing. “The Huon particles have affected you.”

“You mean there really are still Huon particles in me,” Rose asked. She wasn’t going to die but there had to be something else. The Doctor wouldn’t be so upset if that wasn’t the case.

“There was no doubt of that,” he told her. “You were clearly affected by the Huon particles being activated earlier.”

“Ok, I’m still not getting what’s wrong then.” Rose pushed herself of the examiners table and walked across the room to him.

“What’s wrong.” He shook his head looking at the floor. “What’s wrong is that the Huon particles have fused with you.”

“Ok? And that’s bad?” Rose asked.

“Not necessarily. They aren’t killing you…” He looked her in the eyes now. “But they did change you. They changed your cells.” He went silent.

“I’m still not getting it,” Rose told him when it became clear he wasn’t going to continue on his own.

“You’re cells are what make your body your’s and the Huon particles have changed them. Well, not really changed them.” He paused again. Before Rose could ask another question he continued, “They’re still the same. Kind of. But they are dying off at a much slower pace. And I mean much slower.”

“Why does it matter?” Rose had never been a big fan of science and had never paid very much attention in school. However, she did know a little bit about science. And what the Doctor was implying sounded like something from a dream.

“Your cells are in control of your aging. With this process your cells aren’t dying off at the rate that they should be. It so slow that…”

Rose felt her hopes start to lift. Was he really implying…? “It sounds like your saying that I…” She hesitated and he turned his eyes back to hers. “That I’m not aging properly?” He nodded. “And I’ll live for a while?” He nodded again. “And maybe we really can have our forever?” He gulped before looking away again. He nodded.

Rose’s heart constricted. Why was he so upset about this? It was everything Rose could have hoped for. She had already promised him her forever but wasn’t it so much better if they could have closer to his forever together.

“Why do you look so upset?” She cried. Tears had started to pour down her cheeks. Maybe he didn’t really want her to stay with him forever.

“Rose…” He turned back to her. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to happen.” He grabbed her shoulders shaking them.

“Do you not want me here?” Rose asked wiping her tears away hastily. 

His face shifted from one of sorrow to horror. “No! That’s not it.”

“Then what is it, Doctor?” Why could he never give her a straight answer?

He stared at her deciding his words carefully before telling her, “I’m not good for you.” Rose opened her mouth to protest but he blundered on. “I’m not. Earlier… I heard you screaming because of what the Empress was doing. And it burned me to the core, Rose. And all I could think about was getting revenge. And then when I had it, if it hadn’t been for Donna I wouldn’t have snapped out of it. And you would have drowned.”

“I’m fine,” Rose told him stroking his arm soothingly.

“Yeah, you’re fine,” He laughed bitterly. “Tell that to the nightmares you have every night.”

“I chose this life,” Rose told him warningly.

“If it hadn’t been for me you never would have seen all the horrors out there, Rose. Your mother would still be here. With you. And now you can’t ever have a normal life.”

Rose felt the urge to slap the timelord silly. That wasn’t going to help right now so instead Rose calmed her breathing before responding. “If I had never met you I would still be a shop girl going nowhere.” The Doctor opened his mouth to respond but Rose lifted her hand, silencing him. “I let you talk. Now it’s my turn. I would never have seen all those beautiful things out there. I never would have helped as many people as I have. Do I have nightmares sometimes? Yes. Of course, I do.”

His eyes were wide as she told him, “I told you before and I’ll tell you again. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” _I love you._ She didn’t say that last part. She had no intention of ruining their friendship by scaring him away. “Unless…”

“Unless?” He asked eyebrows furrowed.

“Unless, you don’t want me here,” Rose finished.

“Of course, I want you here.” His eyes were wide. Panic at the thought of Rose leaving consumed him.

“Really?”

“Yes,” he told her. Rose saw the sincerity of it in his eyes.

“Then…” A smile graced her lips. “All of this just means that I really can give you forever.”

“I don’t want you to regret any of this,” he told her breathlessly.

“Never,” Rose responded. He pulled her into a tight hug. They stood that way for what could have been minutes or hours. Rose wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she was crying again. She was really going to give him forever. Just like she had promised.

When Rose pulled back she saw that the Doctor had trails of tear running down his cheeks, too.

“Um,” Rose said shakily, “Is there anything else I need to know about the Huon particles?”

The Doctor stared at her blankly before understanding lit in his eyes, “Right! Yes, um,” the Doctor hardly ever stumbled over his words. Rose pressed her lips together in an attempt to stop the laughter that was bubbling up inside her. 

“The Huon particles have merged with your cells, changing them very slightly. And definitely lengthening their life. I’m not sure how long the process will last. But if I had to guess I would say you could have a good couple thousand years.” Rose’s eyes widened in shock and the Doctor chuckled at her expression. “You also probably won’t look older than thirty or so when that day does come.” Rose felt some relief at that. 

“Not only are the Huon particles slowing down your aging process. They are also speeding up your healing process. Which is why your ribs are completely healed now. You are still human and anything fatal will kill you so please be careful,” the Doctor added. “But other than that all your other vitals check out. You are completely healthy, Rose Tyler. There’s only one thing that doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Only one thing?” Rose asked, teasingly.

“Oi,” the Doctor responded indignantly. “I’ll have you know, Rose Tyler, I am not often confused.”

“Really? Are you sure?” He pointed his finger at her and Rose stuck her tongue out at him mockingly. His only response was a sigh and sad shake of the head.

“Moving on,” he muttered. “What I don’t understand is how the Huon particles are affecting you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, these results are only popping up now. After the Battle of Canary Wharf I ran a ton of tests on you Rose. Nothing like this popped up. Before now you were perfectly normal. Life span and all.”

“Maybe,” she paused. But the Doctor looked at her expectantly. “Maybe they were dormant before.” His brow furrowed. “And after everything with Donna they activated in me, too.”

“That would make sense. If they were dormant before they wouldn’t affect you at all. But after everything with Donna there’s no way they would have been able to stay dormant.” He rubbed his head. “I guess we’ll never know. But that’s as good a theory as any. Nice thinking.” He smiled at Rose and she smiled back.

XX

They spent several more days in the vortex until the Doctor felt sure that Rose was back to normal. She spent those three days pestering him to take her somewhere fun. She didn’t necessarily want an adventure but she did want to be outside exploring somewhere new or even somewhere they had already been.

On the fourth day the Doctor gave in and took her to Women Wept. It was just as beautiful as the first time Rose had seen it. Then she had been with her first Doctor. She spent a lot of time thinking about him that day. While she knew that they were the same person she also knew that there were some differences between the two. They spent that day ice skating on the frozen waves. 

That night the Doctor had them floating above the planet looking down at the waves that had frozen in the perfect depiction of a women weeping. The Doctor sat behind Rose with both of their legs hanging out of the open doors. 

The next couple days were a bit more relaxing than ice skating. The Doctor took her to the planet Florana. It was a beach planet and Rose thoroughly enjoyed spending her day in a bathing suit while wading through the cool waves. 

While she had enjoyed swimming and splashing with the Doctor she also enjoyed laying on a towel and soaking up the sun rays. And while the Doctor wouldn’t admit this he enjoyed watching her lay out on the towel in her frilly two piece light pink bathing suit.

Every night Rose had nightmares about the void and saying goodbye to her mother. And every night the Doctor rushed into her room to comfort her. He would stay with her until she fell asleep and sometimes he would stay for hours after that. A couple of times he had even fallen asleep with Rose cocooned in his arms. 

Timelords didn’t need to sleep very often and when the Doctor did sleep more often than not he was plagued with nightmares. But with Rose the nightmares floated away and he found it easy to sleep regardless of if he needed to or not.


	7. Smiths and Jones Part 1

A week later, Rose asked the Doctor to take her to get chips. It had been so long since she had had them. The Doctor instantly agreed. This regeneration loved chips almost as much as she did. Rose and the Doctor had both agreed that the place to get the best chips was 21st century London.

So here they were now. Both had a basket of chips in front of them. They sat in a booth at Rose’s favorite place to get chips. The Doctor was in a new blue suit. When Rose had asked him about it he had commented that he was trying something new. Rose wasn't sure how she felt about the change but decided to leave it be.

Rose hummed happily while she ate her chips. She was so focused on her task at hand that it took several minutes for her to notice that the Doctor had abandoned his own chips in favor of looking out the window. 

Curious Rose looked out the window, too. But she saw nothing. The sky was a clear blue except for some dark clouds coming in from the distance. People passed on the sidewalk but no one really stuck out to her.

Deciding that the next best step was to simply ask him what he was looking at. “Doctor?” she muttered.

“Hm?” he hummed back. His gaze never wavered from whatever had his attention.

“What are you looking at?” Rose was still attempting to see what he was seeing.

He tore his gaze away to look at Rose. “Do you see those clouds in the distance?” He pointed to the clouds.

Rose nodded, “A storms coming in. So what?”

“It’s not a storm,” he told her.

XX

One thing had led to another and now Rose was checking in as a patient at Royal Hope Hospital. The Doctor had explained to her that the storm was not in fact a storm but plasma coils building up. 

The plasma coils had ended up being directly over Royal Hope Hospital. As they had gotten closer Rose wondered how no one noticed anything odd about the so called storm. It was over the hospital and just the hospital.

Now Rose was filling out paperwork to check into the hospital. The Doctor had suggested that she say she was having stomach cramps. So she was also having to pretend to not feel well. 

When Rose had asked how he thought he was going to get away with staying the night with her the Doctor had looked at her blankly. Rose had explained to him that most hospitals only let family members stay the night. 

"We’ll say we’re married. People are always assuming that anyways,” the Doctor settled on. He pulled out a set of rings from deep un his pockets. He placed one of them on his ring finger before handing the other to Rose. Rose stared at it for several seconds before grabbing it and sliding it onto her own ring finger.

The weight felt odd and all Rose could think about was the Doctor casually stating that they should pretend to be married. 

Rose finished filling out her paperwork before saying, “You know, usually doting husbands would have filled out the paperwork for their poor sick wives.”

The Doctor grinned at her before replying, “Who says I’m a doting husband?” At Rose’s raised eyebrow he continued, “I’ll tell you what. This very doting husband will take the paperwork to the front desk for his very sick wife.” The Doctor stood and grabbed the clipboard from Rose’s hand before swaggering away.

XX

Hours later and it was the dead of night. Rose laid in a hospital bed annoyed. The Doctor had left her “room” to search for the source of the plasma coils. Rose couldn’t sleep. Not only had she gotten used to him being beside her while she slept she was also hungry. 

Because the Doctor had told her to fake stomach cramps Rose had only been provided a mediocre meal. It hadn’t looked very appetizing which wasn’t saying much considering it was hospital food. So Rose had only taken a couple bites before shoving the tray away. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for their cover but it did leave Rose with quite a bit of an appetite.

She laid on her side with her eyes closed trying to make herself fall asleep. Hopefully they would get everything sorted tomorrow. And then Rose could get a descent night of sleep and nice meal.

She fiddled with the foreign ring on her finger. Her thoughts shifted to the Doctor. She wished he was here with her right now instead of searching the hospital. If he was she knew she could fall asleep hungry or not.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the rustling of the curtain that had been drawn closed. Her eyes flew open and she looked at the Doctor who quietly closed the curtain before turning towards her. He was back a lot sooner than she had been expecting him to be.

“Hey,” he whispered when he saw her eyes peering at him through the darkness.

“Hey,” she whispered back to him.

Before she could ask what he was doing back so soon he told her, “I kept getting interrupted. All the nurses wanted to know why I was snooping around,” he pouted. “I couldn’t do very much searching. I’ll try again tomorrow.”

Rose smiled at him and he returned it before dragging the chair in the corner closer to the bed. Rose cringed at the sound. “Sorry,” he whispered settling into the chair. Rose tried to get comfortable in the bed. Rose was glad the Doctor was next to her. SHe could probably fall asleep now. It wouldn’t be quite the same as on the Tardis but it would do for tonight.

Her eyes remained closed for several minutes before she felt her hand be grabbed. Her eyes opened again to see the Doctor smiling at her shyly. She smiled back at him before closing her eyes and finally falling asleep.

XX

The next morning Rose was still sat in the hospital bed. Now that night had passed she was feeling less cheerful. Rose wasn’t a morning person on a typical day. Add to that a hospital bed and some more pathetic hospital food for breakfast Rose was definitely not feeling very pleasant. The Doctor had wisely not commented on her foul mood.

Rose couldn’t wait to have the plasma coils sorted. Then she could get a warm meal and the Doctor and her could be off exploring new exciting places. Rose smiled at the thought. 

The Doctor had run off early this morning to snoop around again. Rose’s curtain was open allowing her to see the other patients in the ward. A man was leading a small group of what Rose knew to be medical students around to each patient. 

Earlier Rose had been asked if she minded. She didn’t mind but she did feel bad about lying to them. They were learning and she wasn’t even sick. 

Just then the Doctor rounded the corner and made his way back to Rose’s bed. He closed the curtain and sat in the chair that was still beside the bed. He looked to be lost in thought. Rose grabbed his hand but didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to interrupt whatever he was thinking about. 

Rose had grown pretty good at reading what he needed from her. Sometimes it was better if he talked things through with her but right now was not one of those times. When he was ready he would tell her what was on his mind.

The curtain was pulled back. Standing there was Mister Stoker with his group of students. He said, “Mow then, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you?”

Rose responded in her best sick but getting better voice as she pushed herself into a sitting position, “Oh, not so bad. Still a bit, you know, blah.” The Doctor stared at her with an amused smirk on his face. He was so going to owe her for this.

Mister Stoker smiled at her before addressing his students, “Rose Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains.” Rose had used the name Smith because she couldn’t very well use her own. She was supposed to be dead. “Jones, why don’t you see what you can find? Amaze me.

A dark skinned woman stepped forward not even looking at Rose. Instead she was completely focused on the Doctor. What was with the Doctor and attracting so many women to him? It never made Rose feel good. The woman, Jones, said, “That wasn’t very clever, running around outside, was it?”

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrow and asked, “Sorry?”

“On Chancellor Street this morning?” Jones laughed, “You came up to me and took your tie off.”

The Doctor looked intrigued. Rose knew how much he loved a mystery and this would definitely pique his interest. “Really? What did I do that for?” he asked.

“I don’t know, you just did,” Jones laughed again. 

The Doctor told her, “Not me. I was here all night with my wife. Ask Rose.” The Doctor pointed his finger at Rose. 

Jones’s eyes flicked to her briefly before landing on the Doctor again. “Well, that’s weird, cause it looked like you. Have you got a brother?”

“No, not any more. Just me,” he responded tersely. Rose grabbed his hand and squeezed it hoping to comfort him. He smiled at her appreciation clear in his eyes.

Mister Stoker interrupts their converation with a sigh, “As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones.”

“Sorry. Right.” Jones quickly grabs her stethoscope and listens to Rose’s heart. She moves the stethoscope around a few times listening to something else.

“I weep for future generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?” Mister Stoker asks sarcasm lacing his voice. 

“I was listening to her lungs,” Jones informs him before asking Rose, “Is it possible that you are pregnant?”

“No,” Rose responds, quickly. Probably to quickly for someone who is supposed to be happily married. 

Jones looks at her suspiciously but doesn’t question her. Instead, she says, “Er, I don’t know. Stomach cramps?”  
Mister Stoker sighs again and replies, “That is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient’s chart.” He moves forward and attempts to grab the chart that is clipped onto the end of Rose’s bed. He receives an electric shock for his efforts and he quickly drops the clipboard onto the bed at Rose’s feet.

“That happened to me this morning,” Jones exclaims. The other students start muttering about similar instances happening to them. Rose and the Doctor share a quick look. _This has to have something to do with the plasma coils_ , Rose thinks.

Stoker puts a stop to their chattering by saying, “That’s only to be expected. There’s a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by. Anyone?”

“Benjamin Franklin,” the Doctor crows. Rose shoots a reprimanding look his way. That question was clearly directed towards Misters Stokers students. 

Mister Stoker doesn’t seem to care. Instead he just looks happy that someone answered him. “Correct.”

The Doctor wasn’t paying attention to him. Instead he was looking at Rose and telling her “My mate, Ben. That was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked…” Rose shot a pointed look his way. He either didn’t see it or had decided to ignore it. If Rose didn’t do something he was going to end up in the loony bin.

“Quite.” Mister Stoker looked at the Doctor strangely.

The Doctor still hadn’t noticed. “And then I got electrocuted.”

“You think your so funny,” Rose said while rolling her eyes.

He pouted back at her, “I am funny.” Rose breathed a sigh of relief as she spun his inane chatterings from something of a crazy person to a husband trying to amuse his sick wife. Several students laughed at him but it didn’t bother the Doctor.

“Moving on. We’ll run a pregnancy test just in case. Next we have…” As mister Stoker and his students moved away, Rose smacked the Doctor’s arm. 

He pouted at her but Rose just pointed a stern finger at him and said, “People are going to think you are crazy.” His pout turned to a grin at her reprimanding tone. He just loved it when Rose had that serious look on her face.

Rose frowned at him before relaxing her face again. She could never stay mad at him for long. Highly inconvenient, that.

XX

The Doctor had left. Again. Which meant Rose was by herself. Again. Rose hated sitting out of their adventures. But the Doctor had manged to convince her that she was essential in their cover. So here she was. Sitting in bed. Doing nothing.

Rose had just stood up to do a bit of stretching. Laying in bed for hours on end was not doing her any good. It was raining outside she noticed when she took a moment to glance outside. Only. That couldn’t be normal.

“Rose!” The Doctor rounded the corner and ran towards her.

Rose pointed and practically whispered, “the rain.”

“I know,” the Doctor responded. “It’s the plasma coils. What are they doing?”

The Doctor and Rose stood side by side looking out the window. Normally they wouldn’t be as fascinated by the rain as they were but this was different. Different because the rain was going up.

Rose was no expert but she was pretty sure this wasn’t normal. Suddenly there was a lot of rumbling. Rose lost her footing as the ground began to shake. When it had finally settled again Rose pushed herself back up. Rose stood on her shaky legs and looked out the window. What she saw made her eyes widen. Because they weren’t on earth anymore. 

Rose stared out at the large grey expanse before her. She recognized this view from her travels with the Doctor. The Earth hung suspended before her as if to tease her. Rose’s breath caught as reality sunk in. They were on the moon.

The Doctor came to stand beside her. They looked at eachother and then back out the window. “Get dressed,” the Doctor told her. Rose’s normal clothes were sitting on the small nightstand. The Doctor closed the curtain so that Rose could have some privacy. But he remained in the small enclosing with his back turned to Rose.

Rose quickly got dressed. “Don’t! We’ll lose all the air,” a small voice shouted as Rose was tying her shoes.

“But they’re not exactly air tight. If the air was going to get sucked out it would have happened straight away, but it didn’t. So how come?” someone responded. It sounded like the same medical student from before. 

Rose walked up to the Doctor and when he saw her pulled open the curtain with a flourish and said, “Very good point. Brilliant, in fact. What was your name?”

“Martha,” the medical student responded.

“And it was Jones, wasn’t it? Well then, Martha Jones, the question is, how are we still breathing?” Rose really didn’t like how he said that. It almost sounded like a flirt. Rose’s heart clenched at that thought.

Another one of the medical students wailed, “We can’t be.” She looked so scared and Rose instantly felt sympathetic. She knew what it was like for strange things to happen to her. Sometimes it made her feel like she was going crazy.

“Obviously we are, so don’t waste my time,” the Doctor snapped at her.

Rose smacked his arm and hissed at him, “Rude.” Rose made her way over to the medical student. She rubbed her arm and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Julia Swales,” the girl sobbed to Rose.

Rose rubbed her shoulder some more and said, “I know that this is all crazy right now, Julia, but we’ll get it sorted. Right now we have patients in this hospital and it’s your job to take care of them. Do you think you could do that?” The girl continued to sob for a few more minutes before gathering her courage and nodding. Rose smiled at her and wiped to tears off the young girls face.

The Doctor watches this interaction but quickly moves on. “Martha, what have we got? Is there a balcony on this floor, or a veranda, or…” he trails off.

“By the patients’ lounge, yeah,” Martha informs him.

The Doctor asks Martha with his hands shoved into his pockets, “Fancy going out?”

“Okay,” Martha readily agrees.

“We might die,” he tells her in the same flirtatious voice from before.

“We might not,” Martha responds just as flirty.

The Doctor beams and says, “Good. Come on.” He points at the other medical student, “Not her, she’d hold us up.”

Rose stomped over to him with narrowed eyes, “Doctor don’t be rude.”

“Rose, I don’t know if you noticed but we are on the moon and I kind of need to get us back to earth. I don’t have time to sugarcoat everything right now.”

“Actually, strangely enough, I had noticed. And that still doesn’t give you the right to act how you have been. You need to apologize.” Rose pointed to Julia who stared at them with wide eyes. Rose gaped at him as the Doctor rolled his eyes and opened his mouth again most likely to protest.

Rose held up her hand to stop him, “No, you know what? You just go with Martha. I’ll stay here and help however I can.” This time the Doctor sat up straight and looked at her with wide eyes.

“No, Rose. I’m sorry. Please come with Martha and I.” Rose shook her head stubbornly. She wasn’t who he needed to be apologizing to. Besides Rose would rather not watch him flirt with Martha.

The Doctor tried to protest again but Rose just turned around and waited for him to leave. She was starting to get impatient when she heard, “Come on Mr. Smith. I’ll take you to the balcony.”

A couple more long seconds passed before she heard their footsteps retreating. Her shoulders slumped. For as much as she had pushed for the Doctor to go without her she was still incredibly disappointed that he had. It was ridiculous.


	8. Smiths and Jones Part 2

Rose helped in whatever way she could but there wasn’t much she could do. Mostly, she sat by the window and waited. She wasn’t really sure what she was waiting for but wait she did. While she was waiting she noticed a strange emptiness inside herself. She wasn’t sure where it was coming from but after several long minutes of trying to figure it out and making no progres she pushed the thoughts away.

Twenty minutes had passed when she noticed several long cylindrical shaped space ships float down to the surface of the moon. Rose wasn’t sure where she had seen them before but she was certain that she had.

It wasn’t until the aliens exited the space ships in several long lines did she realize where she recognized them from.

The Doctor had been exploring a new planet. The very same space ships had descended from the sky and the Doctor had practically dragged her back to the Tardis. Later, he had explained that they were like intergalactic police for hire. She couldn’t remember the name of their species but right now it didn’t matter. Because if they were involved then there was more going on here than just being dragged to the moon.

The alines marched their way towards the hospital. Rose decided not to mention what was happening outside. She didn’t want everyone to start panicking again now that they had managed to calm everyone down.

Instead she walked up to Julia and told her that she would be back later. Julia nodded looking a lot calmer than she had before.

Rose exited the ward. She walked through the halls quietly. Eventually she heard the sound of shouts. She followed to sounds to a balcony that hung suspended above the ground floor.

The Doctor and Martha were crouched behind a plant hiding. Rose peered over the balcony and saw the aliens filling the room. Rose looked back at Martha and the Doctor and saw them whispering to eachother.

She saw them get up to leave and Rose rushed to catch up to them. “Doctor!” Rose shouted after him. He turned around surprised. He didn’t smile at Rose like he usually did. Something was definitely wrong. “I saw the aliens come in and figured I should come find you.”

He nodded and turned around to continue his walk back down the hallway. They made it to a door marked admins office and crowded inside.

“I’m going to keep an eye on where the Judoon are at,” Martha said hesitantly, looking between Rose and the Doctor. She could obviously sense the tension rolling off of them in waves.

The Doctor waved her away and Martha walked out of the room. The Doctor walked over to a desk with a computer on it without sparing a glance at Rose.

Rose quietly considered him for several minutes before calling his name, “Doctor?”

“Hm?” He didn’t look up at her. She stared at him again. Finally he sighed and said, “What?” He looked at her now.

“What’s wrong?’ she asked him.

“Nothing,” he responded. But Rose wasn’t convinced. This was always his answer and she had been with him long enough to know when he was lying. And right now, he was lying.

“Oh, yeah. The was real convincing,” Rose told him sarcastically. He winced and all Rose wanted to do was hold him tight and never let go. “Talk to me,” she begged quietly.

She grabbed his shoulders and turned him towards her. He let her but refused to look up from the ground. Rose rested a hand against his cheek and stroked it. He nuzzled his head into her palm before looking at her with so much pain in his eyes that it broke Rose’s heart. Rose felt her heart skip a beat and her breath catch in her throat.

“I promised your mum that I would keep you safe and all I ever do is drag you into dangerous situation after dangerous situation.”

Anger coursed through Rose’s veins. “How many times are we going to have this conversation?”

“Rose,” he tried to interrupt.

“No, I already told you. I’m going to be with you forever. You’re not gettin’ rid of me. I made my choice a long time ago. And I’d really appreciate it if you would stop trying to convince me otherwise. Because all it does is make me think that you don’t want me around,” Rose shouted at him.

The Doctor winced again and whispered, “I just want you safe.”

Rose opened her mouth but was interrupted by the door being slammed open. “They’ve reached the third floor,” Martha informed them. When the door had opened the Doctor had backed away from Rose and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. He was now using it to scan the computer. Rose stared at him. Her eyes were misted over. As she tried to blink them away she heard Martha ask, “What’s that thing?”

“Sonic screwdriver,” the Doctor answered her in a clipped voice.

“Well, if you’re not going to answer me properly,” Martha huffed.

The Doctor looked up at her shocked and responded, “No, really, it is. It’s a screwdriver, and it’s sonic. Look.” He held it up so Martha could see it better.

Martha put a teasing smile on and asked, “What else have you got, a laser spanner?”

Rose stared in disbelief as the Doctor returned her smile and said,” I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, cheeky woman.” How can he flirt with Martha when moment prior they were just having a very serious conversation? Rose breathed deeply through her nose. There was no point in starting an argument with him right now. Not that she has any right to start an argument. After all, the Doctor and her were just friends.

The Doctor suddenly hit the computer in front of him in frustration. He yelled, “Oh, this computer! The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon. Because Rose and I were just getting some chips from the chippy. I swear, we were. I wasn’t looking for trouble, honestly, I wasn’t, but I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital, and that lightning, that’s a plasma coil. Been building up for two days now, so I had rose checked in. I thought something was going on inside. It turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon up above.” He said all of this the Rose was hardly able to keep up with him.

“But what were they looking for?” Martha asked.

The Doctor looked at her grimly, “Something that looks human, but isn’t.”

“Like you, apparently,” Martha commented. _He had told Martha he was an alien,_ Rose thought. _Why would he do that?_ The Doctor didn’t usually reveal that particular fact about himself.

The Doctor nodded in confirmation, “Like me. But not me.”

“Haven’t they got a photo?” Martha asked.

“Well, might be a shape-changer,” the Doctor told her casually.

“Whatever it is, can’t you just leave the Judoon to find it?”

The Doctor violently shook his head, “If they declare the hospital guilty of harboring a fugitive, they’ll sentence it to execution.”

Rose and Marhta’s eyes widened and Martha demanded, “All of us?”

“Oh yes. If I can find this thing first.” The Doctor turned his attention back to the computer before yelling, “Oh! You see, they’re thick! Judoon are thick! They are completely thick! They wiped the records. Oh, that’s clever.” The last part was thickly laced with sarcasm.

“What are we looking for?” Martha asked calmly. Rose was beginning to feel a bit useless. She was just standing here. Usually she was the one asking questions. But Martha seemed to have that part covered.

“I don’t know. Say, any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms,” The Doctor told her before muttering to himself, “Maybe there’s a back-up.”

“Just keep working. I’ll go ask Mister Stoker. He might know.” With that last sentence Martha ran back out the door. Rose and the Doctor were left alone again.

Instead of continuing their earlier line of conversation Rose asked, “What about air?”

“There’s a force field around the hospital. It’s keeping the oxygen in but if we run out then were dead. Which you would have known if you had come with me and Martha.” He muttered that last sentence to him self. He hadn’t been expecting Rose to hear it but she did.

“Oi! If you’re going to continue to be an arse then I’m going to go do something else,” she shouted at him. Rose knew that she did not deserve to be treated this way by him.

The Doctor rubbed his face and said, “Rose, wait!” Rose paused with her hand on the door knob. “I’m sorry,” he finally whispered. “I’m just… feeling a little stressed.”

Rose walked back to him and said, “I know. But that doesn’t give you the right to be rude to me or anyone else.” He nodded his head in agreement. She grabbed his hand that was resting on the desk. Their fingers intertwined and Rose smiled. It felt like it had been forever since they had held hands. In reality it had only been a couple of hours.

He turned back to the computer and pulled his hand out of Rose’s grasp. Rose felt a momentary swell of disappointment before shaking it away. The Doctor need to focus. After several minutes of waiting for him to fix the backup she heard the Doctor exclaim, “Aha! I’ve got it working. Let’s find Martha.” He grabbed Rose’s hand and hauled her out of the room and down the hall in the direction Marhta had gone.

They ran into said person a minute later when turning a corner. “I’ve restored the back up,” the Doctor tells her with a giddy smile on his face.

The smile is wiped away by what Martha says next, “I found her.”

“You did what?” The conversation is interrupted by the door to Mr. Stokers office being broken down. “Run!” the Doctor yells before grabbing Martha’s hand with his free one.

They run down the hall together until the Doctor pulls them into a new room. This one is marked radiology. The Doctor pulls out his sonic screwdriver and locks the door before herding them behind the radiation screen. “When I say now, press the button,” the Doctor tells Martha.

“But I don’t know which one,” Martha protests.

“Then find out!” the Doctor yells at her. Martha and Rose look around panicked. Rose spots a large binder marked ‘Operator’s Manual’ on a shelf and pulls it off. Martha grabs it out of her hands and starts frantically flipping through it. There’s no way Martha is even reading any of the book. The door is being banged on. Rose’s heart is pounding in her chest. She wishes she could help but she doesn’t know how.

The Doctor yells, “Now!” as the door is slammed open. The thing that had been following them steps into the room. Martha panics and slams her hand on the big yellow button. An electric sound fills the room before the creature falls to the ground.

Martha asks, “What did you do?”

“Increased the radiation by five thousand per cent. Killed him dead.” Rose gaped at him. Killing wasn’t usually the Doctor’s style. Unless they were Daleks. Rose was pretty sure this wasn’t a Dalek.

“But isn’t that going to kill you?” Martha asked him. Rose blinked. She hadn’t even considered that.

“Nah, it’s only roentgen radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery,” he tells her. “It’s safe for you to come out. I’ve absorbed it all. All I need to do is expel it.” Martha and Rose hesitantly step out of the small room.

“If I concentrate I can shake the radiation out of my body and into one spot. It’s in my left shoe. Here we go, here we go. Easy does it.” Rose stares at him as he starts to shake while saying, “Out, out, out, out, out. Out, out. Ah, ah, ah, ah! It is, it is, it is, it is, it is hot. Hold on.” Suddenly he pulls his shoe and sock off and shoves them in a bin saying, “Done.”

An incredulous laugh escapes Rose’s lips and the Doctor smiles back at her hesitantly.

As her laughter calmed down she noticed the emptiness again. Except it wasn’t really an emptiness. It was more like something was trying to connect but couldn’t quite reach her. Like something had been there before and she hadn’t noticed it. But now that it was stretched tight she was noticing it.

Martha interrupted her thoughts. “You’re completely mad.”

The Doctor grinned at her and responded, “You’re right. I look daft with one shoe.” He bent down and removed his other shoe and sock. He wiggled his toes and said, “Barefoot on the moon.”

Martha shook her head at him before moving on. “So what is that thing? And where’s it from, the planet Zovirax?”

The Doctor laughed at her joke. “It’s just a Slab. They’re called Slabs. Basic slave drones.”

“Slaves!” Rose interrupted him horrified.

The Doctor shook his head, “Rose, they’re not actually people. They’re kind of like robots. See?” He knocked on the drones chest. “Solid leather, all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish.” Rose nodded her head unsurely.

“But it was that woman, Miss Finnegan. It was working for her, just like a servant.” Martha told them. The Doctor walked to the machine and pulled his sonic screwdriver out. It was burned to a crisp. Definitely unusable.

“My sonic screwdriver,” the Doctor whined.

“She was one of the patients, but,” Martha continued while ignoring the Doctor’s complaints.

“Oh, no. My sonic screwdriver.” Rose walked to the Doctor and patted his shoulder sympathetically. She knew how much he loved his sonic screwdriver.

“She had a straw like some kind of vampire.” Martha was still talking. Either she didn’t care about the sonic or she hadn’t noticed the Doctor pouting about it.

The Doctor looked at Rose. “I loved my sonic screwdriver.” Rose nodded her head with a frown.

Martha huffed and shouted, “Doctor?”

“Sorry,” he threw the sonic screwdriver away and smiled at Martha. “You called me Doctor.”

Martha returned his smile and said, “Anyway? Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mister Stoker’s blood.”

The Doctor thought for a second before responding, “Funny time to take a snack. You’d think she’d be hiding. Unless. No. Yes, that’s it. Wait a minute. Yes! Shape-changer. Internal shape-changer. She wasn’t drinking blood, she was assimilating it. If she can assimilate Mister Stoker’s blood, mimic the biology, she’ll register as human. We’ve got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!”

He grabbed Rose’s and Martha’s hands and pulled them out of the radiation room. They walked down the hall before being forced to hide quickly as another one of the slabs walked down the hall. “That’s the thing about Slabs. They always travel in pairs.”

“What about you?” Martha asked.

The Doctor furrowed his brow, “What about me what?”

“Haven’t you got back-up?”

“I’m right here,” Rose muttered.

“I meant someone else,” Martha responded. “Is it just you two?” Rose nodded her head.

The Doctor sighed rolling his eyes, “Oh. Humans. We’re stuck on the moon running out of air with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, you’re asking personal questions? Come on.”

Martha followed him but muttered, “I like that. Humans. I’m still not convinced you’re an alien.” Martha and the Doctor rounded the corner together but Rose stayed crouched where she was.

It didn’t stop her from hearing one of the Judoon say, “Non-human.”

Martha gasped, “Oh my God, you really are.”

“And again.” Martha and the Doctor run past Rose but she doesn’t notice. The stretching is really starting to bother her now. She feels like she should know what is causing it but she can’t think. She is pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of guns going off. She looks up and noticed that the Doctor and Martha are nowhere to be seen.

Rose sighs and pushes herself to her feet. And he was always yelling at Rose for wandering off.

She wandered down the hall in search of the Doctor and Martha. Instead she ran into a Judoon. Instantly a bright light was shined into her eyes. When it was done she blinked her eyes rapidly and heard, “Human. Traces of non-human suspected. Non-human traces confirmed.”

The Judoon shined the light over her again. “Mostly human with light unknown non-human elements. Traces of contact with other non-human.” The Judoon grabbed her hand and put an X on the back of her hand. Meanwhile Rose was reeling with shock. How could she not identify as completely human? The Doctor had told her she was still human.

“You will need this.” The Judoon handed her a card.

Rose looked at the card curiously. Her eyes widened and she said, “That’s a lot of credits.” The Judoon moved on.

Rose looked to the left and then to the right trying to decide which way to go to find the Doctor. Across the hall she spots an oxygen tank half hidden behind a chair. She kneels down to pick it up hoping that it had some remaining oxygen in it. She wasn’t sure what the Doctor was planning on doing but she was pretty sure having some extra oxygen on hand wasn’t a bad thing.

She sucked in a breath and nearly fell over. Scrawled across the back of the tank were the words ‘Bad Wolf’. She hadn’t seen those words in what felt like forever. She grabbed the tank and checked the oxygen level. Sure enough there was a little more than half a tank left. Rose stashed the small portable tank into her jacket pocket. Making a decision she ran the way the Judoon had gone.

XX

“Oh, where did Rose go?” muttered the Doctor to himself. He had a plan but if this plan was going to work he needed time to make it happen. He paced the hall up and down tugging on his hair. Rose was great at providing distractions. Lord knows, she was always distracting him. Which is why he needed her here now.

“Why do you need Rose?” Martha asked.

Down the hall he heard cries of terror as the Judoon finally made it to this floor. “Find the non-human. Execute.”

He turned back to Martha wishing once more that Rose was here. “Martha, stay here. I need time. You’ve got to hold them up.”

Panic crosses Martha’s face, “How do I do that?”

He really really wished Rose was here. “Just forgive me for this. It could save a thousand lives. It means nothing. Honestly, nothing.” He hesitated before pressing his lips to Martha’s. _It’s just a genetic transfer_ , he thought to himself. _It’s not a big deal_. But he knew that is was a big deal.

He turned away from Martha and ran down the hall following the signs marked MRI. He still heard Martha mutter, “That was nothing?” He didn’t look back.


	9. Smiths and Jones Part 3

Rose followed the sounds of a commotion ahead. The sounds led her to a group of Judoon crowded in a doorway. Martha was trying to push through. “But it was her. She killed him. She did it. She murdered him.” Rose felt her heart jump into her throat. Someone was dead?

Rose ran to the group and peered between the bodies of the Judoon. They were big and took up a lot of space but Rose managed to get a glimpse of the Doctor. “No!” she shouted and tried to push her way through. The Judoon held her back.

“Judoon have no authority over human crime,” the Judoon in front told Martha.

“But she’s not human,” Martha shouted.

Rose’s attention was drawn to a lady standing next to the Doctor’s body as she said, “Oh, but I am. I’ve been catalogued.” The lady held her hand that had an x drawn on to it up for everyone to see.

“But she’s not! She assimi…” Martha trailed off in thought, “Wait a minute. You drank his blood? The Doctor’s blood?” Martha quickly grabbed a scanner off the nearest Judoon.

“Oh, I don’t mind. Scan all you like,” the lady said as Martha pointed the scanner at her.

The Judoon peered at the results and read, “Non-human.”

Shock registered on the woman’s face, “But, what?”

“Confirm analysis.”

The old lady said, “Oh, but it’s a mistake, surely. I’m human. I’m as human as they come.”

“He gave his life so they’d find you,” Martha muttered. Rose had stopped trying to get through as the events had unfolded. At this reminder she started shoving her way through again. She managed to get oast the Judoon and she ran to the Doctor’s side. She placed her hands on either side of his chest. When she felt nothing she leaned her head on his chest hoping to hear anything. It was silent.

The Judoon carried on with their execution of the woman. But Rose wasn’t listening. The Doctor couldn’t die. Rose didn’t want to live without him. They were supposed to have forever together. Why wasn’t he regenerating. Rose would even prefer that over not having him at all.

“Doctor,” Rose sobbed. “Come on! Wake up! Regenerate! Do something!” She wrapped her arms around him. “Please don’t leave me.”

Rose wasn’t sure what was happening around her but suddenly Martha was in front of her. “Rose,” she tried to get Rose’s attention. “I’m going to try CPR, ok?” Rose didn’t say anything. “I need you to move.”

Rose shakily pushed herself off the Doctor. _Why hadn’t she thought to try CPR?_ Rose felt immediately grateful for Martha. She had just been hoping the Doctor would regenerate.

Martha started CPR. It took a moment for Rose to register why it felt like Martha was doing it wrong. “He’s got two hearts,” Rose told Martha.

“What?”

“He has two hearts,” Rose told her again.

“How can he have two hearts?” Martha exclaimed. At Rose’s look she just continued with her CPR. That was when Rose remembered the oxygen tank. She pulled it out of her pocket.

“Martha,” Rose called. Martha looked at her and her expression brightened when she saw the oxygen tank. She took it out of Rose’s hand and pressed it again the Doctor’s face. By now Rose was feeling particularly lightheaded. She blinked her eyes hard but it was no use. She fell backwards and the world around her faded to darkness.

XX

Rose wakes up to her name being murmured in her ear over and over again. “Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose.” She blinks her eyes open. Above her is the Doctor. When he notices her eyes are open he smiles a brilliant smile at her. Rose smiles weakly back at him.

She realizes that she is in his arms in front of a large window. He is sitting on the floor with his back against a wall. She tries to sit up but he clings to her so instead she relaxes into his arms. “Are you okay?” he asks with his lips pressed again her temple.

Rose nods. “Are you?” He nods back at her. She pushes herself to her feet despite the Doctor’s protests. “Because I thought you were dead. And you’re not. And I was so scared. And I…”

“Rose.” He looks at her and stands up. “I’m sorry.” And maybe he is. But it doesn’t change how scared Rose had been. Rose turns around to look out the window while shaking her head. They are back on Earth. And now that Rose is paying attention she notices that the strange stretching sensation from before is gone.

“Let’s just get back to the Tardis,” Rose whispers. The Doctor’s shoulders slump but he follows Rose out of the hospital and to the Tardis.

Once they are in the Tardis the Doctor sends them to the vortex. They both sit in the in silence for several minutes. Rose is sitting in the jump seat and the Doctor is leaning against the console.

Finally the Doctor breaches the silences with the same question from before, “Are you alright?” Rose had said she was fine earlier but he wasn’t convinced.

She ignored him in favor if looking at the Tardis grating. “Rose?” The Doctor moved away from the console and kneeled in front of her.

“I’m fine,” Rose whispered. But her voice was wobbly and from the Doctor’s position he could see tears building up in her eyes.

“No, you’re not.” He grabbed her shoulders and tried to catch her eyes with his own. But she refused to look at him. “Rose.” His voice was just as quiet as hers had been. “Talk to me.”

“Why?” Rose gave a humorless laugh.

“What?” The Doctor’s brows furrowed.

Rose finally looked at him, “Why should I? You never talk to me.” He opened his mouth to protest but Rose kept going. “You always just run off and do whatever you want. And it scares me so much. I don’t want to lose you. I already lost my mom and my dad and Mickey. And I don’t know what I would do if I lost you, too.” Tears poured down Rose’s cheeks.

The Doctor stared at her shocked, “Rose. I’m not going to leave you.”

“Yeah? What about today?” she spat at him. She jumped to her feet and the Doctor followed her lead.

“I know what I was doing. It was part of my plan.”

“You almost died!” Rose shouted shoving him. He stumbled back a few steps staring at her with wide eyes.

Rose slowly sat down on the floor of the Tardis with her knees pulled to her chest. The Tardis was also humming angrily at him. When he heard sobs coming from Rose he couldn’t just stand around anymore. He walked over to her and sat beside her.

“Rose,” he started.

“Leave me alone,” Rose rasped. Instead he pulled her body into his laps and held her as tight as he could. She struggled against his hold still sobbing. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair several times. Finally she stilled and wrapped her arms around him as well. It was an awkward position but the Doctor didn’t mind and he hoped Rose didn’t either.

“I don’t want to lose you,” Rose whispered.

“You’re not going to lose me,” the Doctor tried to reassure her.

“Promise?” she asked.

“Promise.”

XX

They sat there for several hours. Every time he went to stand up Rose would tighten her grip on him until he relaxed again. Eventually the Doctor broke the silence by asking, “Are you ok?” It was a bit redundant but he needed to know if Rose was feeling better now.

She nodded her head but said nothing. Her tears had dried long ago leaving her face feeling stiff. What she really wanted was to go to sleep. It had been a long day and she was tired. But she didn’t want to leave the Doctor’s arms. True, he would most likely stay with her until she fell asleep but she knew that it wouldn’t be the same as being in his arms like she was right now.

Something else was tugging at her. Something she needed to tell him about. It was important. He needed to know. But she couldn’t remember what. She closes her eyes and thinks over the events of the day.

With a gasp her eyes fly open. That’s right! She hadn’t scanned as completely human. And then there was that strange feeling she had been feeling all day. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I… There’s something I need to tell you,” Rose says.

“What?”

“Earlier. At the hospital. I got scanned by one of the Judoon.” He nodded and she continued. “But he said…” She pulled away but didn’t get off of his lap. She wanted to look at him. “He said that I wasn’t completely human,” she rushed the words out.

The Doctor stared at her for several seconds. “You scanned as partly human?” Rose nodded. “But not fully human?” Rose nodded again.

“Do I need to have more tests done?” Rose asked. She really didn’t want to have any more scans done but if the Doctor felt like he needed to run some more tests then she was willing to do it.

“No,” he shook his head slowly. “I think that because the Huon particles have merged with your cells when the Judoon scanned you they picked up on the Huon particles. I’m guessing it came up as something unknown.” Rose nodded and he continued, “They wouldn’t know what Huon particles are. Like I said before they are ancient and can only be found in the heart of the Tardis.”

Rose nodded, “Why didn’t they attack me? I didn’t scan as completely human.”

“They likely knew that they were looking for someone with no human blood in them. You had human blood so it couldn’t have been you,” the Doctor told her. Rose nodded but didn’t say anything else. “Is somehting else bothering you?”

Rose looked at him again, “It’s going to sound stupid. But I’m not crazy.” The Doctor just looked at her patiently waiting for her to tell him what was wrong. “When we were on the moon… I had this odd feeling. I don’t really know how to describe it.”

Rose frowned and narrowed her eyes trying to find the right words to describe the strange feeling. The Doctor’s brow was furrowed. He wasn’t sure where this was going but Rose looked distressed and he needed to help her. “At first I thought it felt like something was missing. But then I realized that’s not what it felt like. It felt like something was supposed to be there and then it was just gone but I was still connected.”

The Doctor whose eyes had widened stood and pulled rose to her feet as well. “Like there was a cord and it was being pulled tight?” he asked. He had to be sure. What Rose was describing should be impossible for her. This wasn’t something humans could do.

Rose nodded her head, “What’s wrong?”

“Rose, I want to check something,” he told her hesitantly.

“Ok?”

“I need to look into your mind. I know that you don’t like anyone going in there and I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t feel like it was important. It’s just what you are telling me should be impossible and I just need to check,” he rambled.

Rose stopped him, “Doctor. It’s ok. I trust you. I jus’ don’t like anyone in my mind without permission.”

He looked at her with awe. “You really trust me?”

“Of course,” Rose replied. “You’re not going to do anything bad, are you?”

The Doctor rushed to reply, “No, of course not! It’s just that… looking into someones mind isn’t something that should happen very often. Someone’s mind is very private.”

Rose nodded in understanding. “What do I do?”

“Just close your eyes. Anything you don’t want me to see you can imagine that it is behind a door and I won’t look.” Rose took a deep breath and did as he asked. Her eyes slid shut and she locked away the thoughts that she didn’t want him to see. The Doctor lifted his hands to her temples and watched her for a second. Joy swelled in his heart. His precious girl trusted him to do this.

He closed his eyes and gently prodded into her mind. She startled for a second before settling down.

They stood this way for several minutes while the Doctor looked around her mind. After he was satisfied with what he found he pulled away. Rose opened her eyes when she felt him retreat. The Doctor stood smiling in front of her.

“What?” She returned his smile hesitantly.

“Nothings wrong… But that… pull that you were feeling was your connection to the Tardis.” At Rose’s raised eyebrows he continued, “Most humans would form a small link with her. Just enough so that the Tardis can translate for you. But you’re connection is much more powerful than that. I think the Huon particles might have opened a bond between you two.”

“But everything’s alright?” Rose asked.

“Yeah. I think that you might be developing some telepathic abilities because of it. They are still developing but they are definitely there. I don’t know how telepathic you will be but I would say that you will probably develop the ability to communicate through touch with other telepaths.”

“Like…” Rose paused. “With you.” He nodded. “Is there anything else I should know?”

The Doctor shook off his disappointment in Rose’s lack of excitement. She doesn’t know what this means for him. “I think your bond with the Tardis might be even stronger than mine is because of Bad Wolf.”

Rose smiled and asked, “Really?”

“Yes. But don’t abuse it. She’s my ship and I don’t need you girls ganging up on me,” he joked.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Rose responded with a tongue touched grin.

“Alright, time for bed. It’s been a long day and I know how Rose Tyler needs her sleep.”

“Will you stay with me?” Rose asks shyly. The Doctor grins and takes her hand.

XX

The next morning walks into the galley to the smell of eggs and toast. The Doctor is sat at the breakfast table tinkering with a toaster. Rose rolls her eyes and grabs her plate off the counter. She takes a seat across from him. He looks up startled, “Rose! Finally awake I see!” Rose scowls at him and kicks him in the shins. “Ow,” he complains. “Someone’s in a mood.”

Rose narrows her eyes at him in mock annoyance but her grin gives her away. “Where are we going today?” Rose asks once most of her food is gone. Now that they had been back on an adventure rose was eager to explore some more. This was her life and she loved it.

“I was thinking…” the Doctor hesitated before looking at Rose.

“What, Doctor?” Rose asks.

“I was thinking that we should give Martha a trip,” he says. “You know, because she saved my life. And your life. And well everyone in the hospital. And half of the Earth.”

The second Rose had heard his thought she felt her stomach drop. But that wasn’t fair. There wasn’t anything wrong with Martha. And she had saved the Doctor’s life. Which Rose was always thankful for. But… She didn’t want to share the Doctor with anyone. And he got along with Martha in a way that made Rose jealous. _Did the Doctor want to see where things with Martha would lead?_ Rose wasn’t going to stop the Doctor from being happy. If he needed this to be happy then she wasn’t going to stop it.

So she told the Doctor, “Sure.”

She wasn’t smiling though and the Doctor must have noticed that. He asked her, “Are you sure?”

_This is your moment. All you have to is tell him that you don’t want Martha here._ But that wasn’t fair to the Doctor or Martha. “Yeah,” she said smiling weakly at him. He beamed back at her before dashing out of the galley and down the hallway. Rose stayed put. She’s not very hungry anymore and she pushes the remainder of her food away.

She sits there for a few minutes before feeling the Tardis land. She makes her way to the console room. Rose enters the room as the Doctor runs back in. The door slams behind him but no one follows. “Is she not coming?” Rose asks feeling hope rise up inside her.

“She is. She just wants proof,” the Doctor informs her.

“Proof?”

“That the Tardis is a time machine.” With those words the Doctor lands the Tardis and runs out the doors.

She patiently waits for him to come back. After what feels like forever he finally returns. Rose tells him “You never gave me proof, you know.” Rose looks at him with raised eyebrows.

He smiles back at her and says, “You never asked.”

They land again and the Doctor slips back out the door. Rose walks to the jump seat and sits on it. She waits for the doors to open again and when they do she hears, “No, no, no. But it’s just a box. But it’s huge. How does it do that? It’s wood. It’s like a box with that room just rammed in.” Martha steps in and out of the Tardis several times and despite not really wanting her there Rose smiles. The Tardis is a lot to grasp. Martha makes her way up the steps saying, “It’s bigger on the inside.”

The Doctor who had mouthed the words with her said, “Is it? I hadn’t noticed.” Rose rolled her eyes at him but didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to ruin Martha’s moment. He closed the door and said “Right then, let’s get going.”

“But is there a crew, like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?” Martha asks.

The Doctor tells her, “Just me and Rose.” He gestures to Rose and she lifts her hand in a wave when Martha looks at her.

Martha smiles at her before turning back to the Doctor. “All on your own?”

The Doctor rubs the back of his neck. “Well, sometimes we have guests. Just one trip to say thanks. You get one trip, then back home. I’d rather it just be me and Rose.” Rose smiles at this.

Martha walks over to the doctor and says, “You’re the one that kissed me.” Rose smile drops and she feels cold.

The Doctor looks at Rose panicked and says, “That was a genetic transfer.” Rose doesn’t have any right to be as upset by this information as she is. But she is upset.

Martha looks at Rose for a minute before saying, “Well, then. Where are we off to?”

The Doctor looks relieved at the change of conversation but Rose can’t focus on that when she feels like her body has been turned to lead. She turns her eyes to the floor so she doesn’t have to watch the Doctor and Martha. She still hears him say “Close down the gravitic anomaliser, fire up the helmic regulator. And finally, the hand brake. Ready?” He looks at Martha briefly before looking at Rose who is still not looking at him. _Maybe bringing Martha along was a mistake,_ he thinks. _I don’t want her getting between me and Rose. But she deserves this for saving me, the hospital, and half the planet. And more importantly for saving Rose._

Martha looks at him grinning and he can’t help but grin back. “No,” she tells him. But he can tell she doesn’t actually mean that.

“Off we go,” he says pulling a lever. The Tardis begins to shake. Rose holds on to the jump seat and the Doctor and Martha hold onto the console. She almost wants to laugh at the look on Martha’s face. She had clearly not been expecting it to be so bumpy.

Martha shouts, “Blimey, it’s a bit bumpy.”

The Doctor just smiles and says, “Welcome aboard, Miss Jones.”

Martha smiles back, “It’s my pleasure, Mister Smith.”

Rose pushes back the tears and hurt that she knows she doesn’t have any right to feel. Because as much as it might feel like it at times, they are not together.


	10. The Shakespeare Code Part 1

Martha is asking the Doctor, “But how do you travel in time? What makes it go?” but Rose isn't paying much attention to their conversation.

“Oh, let’s take the fun and mystery out of everything. Martha, you don’t want to know. It just does. Hold on tight,” the Doctor responds. The Tardis lands quite abruptly. It’s a much harsher landing than Rose is used to. Almost like the Tardis wasn’t happy about something. Rose nearly tumbles out of the jump seat. Marth falls to the floor groaning. Rose knows from experience that falling onto the metal grating of the Tardis is not a pleasant feeling.

“Blimey. Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?” Martha asks.

“Yes, and I failed it.”

“Well, that explains a lot,” Rose mutters to herself. The Doctor hears her and turns a playful glare on. But he frowns when Rose doesn’t smile back at him. 

He pauses before turning back to Martha. “Now, make the most of it. I promised you one trip, and one trip only. Outside this door, brave new world.” He gestures to the door. 

Martha looks at it with a look of wonder before turning to the Doctor and asking excitedly, “Where are we?”

“Take a look. After you.” The Doctor and Martha run to the door. Rose lingers behind. She doesn’t want to ruin this for Martha. She’s not very excited. All she can think about is Martha saying that the Doctor kissed her. It didn’t matter if the Doctor had called it a genetic transfer or whatever. He had still kissed Martha. _Why hasn’t he ever kissed me?_ Rose couldn’t know that the Doctor had kissed her before on satellite five she just didn’t remember it.

Rose makes her way to the door and peers outside. _Definitely the past then_ , she thinks.

Martha is asking questions but Rose interrupts. “Doctor?”

He turns around so fast his coat whips out and hits Martha but he doesn’t seem to notice this. “Yeah, Rose?” 

“You think Martha and I should make use of the wardrobe?” She tries to smile teasingly at him but it feels wrong.

“Quite right! I would have forgotten if not for you.” He turns back to Martha. “Follow Rose to the wardrobe and you can get changed into something more time appropriate.”

Martha nods and Rose leads her back into the Tardis. Rose follows the now familiar path to the wardrobe room. When she opens the doors she hears Martha gasp. The wardrobe is huge with two floors and a spiral stair case in the middle leading to the upper level.

“How are we supposed to find what to where?” Martha asks from behind Rose. The Tardis lights up a section in response.

“There’s your answer,” Rose points to the lit up corner of the wardrobe. “The Tardis helps when she can. Like if you get lost or need something she’ll help you.”

Rose walks to the area the Tardis had lit up. “She?” Martha asks. Rose nods in response already looking trough the dresses. “Like it’s alive?” 

“Of course she is,” Rose says frowning. “And she doesn’t much appreciate being called an it. How would that make you feel?”

“Sorry,” Martha mutters walking over to stand near Rose. She starts to shift through the rack of dresses. “There’s so many to choose from. I don’t even know where to start,” Martha exclaims. 

“Well, we better hurry. The Doctor might get bored and stir up some trouble while were gone,” Rose tells her. While it was mostly a joke there was also a small part of Rose that acknowledged the validness of that statement. 

“Does that happen often?” Martha asks.

Rose nods her head and tells her, “More often than I would like. He hates waiting.”

She pulled out a renaissance dress. It was very simple. Technically it was two parts. The chemise was an off white with long flowing sleeves that nearly reached her finger tips. The chemise would be long enough to brush the ground. The over dress was blush pink and would tie in the front creating a simple but nice design. The dress wasn’t overly complicated and wouldn’t draw attention to them which would be perfect.

Martha followed her lead and picked a very similar style dress only in burgundy. Her dress did not have the long flowing sleeves that Rose’s did. Rose nodded her approval and made her way to a changing room. She drew the curtain behind her and took a deep breath. 

She found that she did like Martha. Which was annoying because she wanted to hate her so badly. Martha was everything Rose was not. She was beautiful and smart and clever. She definitely had her A-levels. She was studying to be a doctor. Over all she was a better fit for the Doctor than Rose could ever hope to be.

Quickly she shrugged the chemise on and then looped the over dress through her arms. She took the laces and looped them through the eyelets on either side creating the simple design before tying the laces into a neat bow at the base. The remaining laces hung down the front of her dress. Rose looked in the mirror. She had to do something about her hair. She braided a small chunk on each side of her face before pulling them behind her head and pinning them in place there.

She stepped out from the behind the curtain to find Martha already waiting for her. Martha looked beautiful in her dress. The burgundy color complimented her skin nicely and her hair was neatly pulled back into a simple knot at the base of her neck. “Oh, you could have left with out me,” Rose told her. 

Martha laughed nervously, “I couldn’t remember the way.”

Rose laughed too, “Yeah, it can be a bit confusing. I’ll show you.” The girls made their way back to the console room. Martha ran ahead to interrogate the Doctor again. Rose stepped out as Martha was asking, “And this is London?” 

The Doctor shrugged and said, “I think so. Round about 1599.”

Martha paused and looked back at him, “Oh, but hold on. Am I all right? I’m not going to get carted off as a slave, am I?”

Rose rolled her eyes as the Doctor said, “Why would they do that?” Sometimes he was so dense.

Martha rolled her eyes, too, “Not exactly white, in case you haven’t noticed.” She pointed at herself.

The Doctor still looked confused, “I’m not even human. Just walk about like you own the place. Works for me.” He turns around looking back at the Tardis. He stops and stares at Rose when he sees that she is standing beside the Tardis quietly. She’s never usually this quiet. It worries him.

“Doctor?” Martha waves a hand in front of his face.

He snaps out of his daze and continues his lecture, “Besides, you’d be surprised. Elizabethan England, not so different from your time. Look over there. They’ve got recycling.” The Doctor pointed at a man shoveling manure into a bucket. Rose grimaced. “Water cooler moment.” Two men were talking at a barrel presumably full of water.

“And the world will be consumed by flame,” a man proclaimed in the middle of the street. Everyone around him ignored what he was saying. They walked straight passed him without a backwards glance.

“Global warming. Oh, yes, and entertainment. Popular entertainment for the masses. If I’m right, we’re just down the river by Southwark, right next to…” The Doctor grabs Rose’s and Martha’s hands and drags them along the road. He stops abruptly when they reach their destination. “Oh, yes, the Globe Theatre! Brand new. Just opened. Through, strictly speaking, it’s not a globe, it’s a tetra-decagon. Fourteen sides. Containing the man himself.”

Rose only has to wonder who he is talking about for a second because Martha exclaims, “Whoa, you don’t mean. Is Shakespeare in there?”

“Oh, yes. Miss Jones, will you accompany me to the theatre?” The Doctor grins at her just as excited. He extends his arm to Martha.

Martha takes it as she says, “Mister Smith, I will.”

The Doctor looks at Rose expectantly, “Miss Tyler?” He extends his other arm to Rose who takes it hesitantly. Briefly she wonders if she should let the Doctor and Martha have some time together alone. But who is she kidding. Rose could never do that. The very thought of leaving the Doctor alone with Martha has jealousy rearing it’s ugly eye.

The Doctor turns back to Martha and says, “When you get home, you can tell everyone you’ve seen Shakespeare.”

Martha laughs. “Then I could get sectioned.”

XX

The Doctor gets them into the globe theatre with the use of the psychic paper. The seats are not the best and they are crowded and it smells but the energy in the room makes Rose smile. Everyone hear is excited for this play. It reminds Rose of concerts from her time. 

The play is long and boring and Rose doesn’t follow the plot very well. She grew up on the estate where education was not a priority. Rose had always prioritized boys and hanging out with her friends over education before she met the Doctor. He had made her want to be smarter. But Rose was still not very acquainted with Shakespeare. She only recognized his more popular work and the play being put on now was not one of those.

The Doctor and Martha seemed to be enjoying it, though. It just made Rose think about how much better of a fit for the Doctor Martha was. And once that thought entered her mind it was all she could think about for the remainder of the play.

By the end Rose was desperate to get out of the theatre. She couldn’t stand to sit here anymore. She released a breath of relief when there was cheering around her. Surely this meant the play was over. 

“That’s amazing! Just amazing. It’s worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah?” Martha shouted her eyes shining bright. 

“London never changes,” the Doctor joked.

“Where’s Shakespeare? I want to see Shakespeare. Author! Author!” Martha shouted. People looked at her strangely and Martha stopped her chant to ask, “Do people shout that? Do they shout Author?”

A man in front of them started to yell, “Author! Author!” And the rest of the crowd took up the chant as well. Before they knew it shouts for the author were being yelled all across the theatre.

The Doctor shrugged before looking at Martha, “Well, they do now.”

A man steps out onto the stage. Clearly he is Shakespeare. But Rose didn’t remember Shakespeare being quite this handsome when looking at pictures in school.

Martha voices the thoughts running through Rose’s head, “He’s a bit different from his portraits.”

“He’s gorgeous,” Rose idly commented. 

The Doctor’s head whipped around to look at her with wide eyes. He splutters for a minute before saying, “Genius. He’s a genius. The genius. The most human human there’s ever been. Now we’re going to hear him speak. Always he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words.”

“It doesn’t stop him from being hot,” Rose mutters to herself. _Why does it matter if I think he is attractive? The Doctor has Martha._ Rose thinks to herself bitterly.

The Doctor continues to stare at her. But Rose doesn’t look at him. She is completely focused on the renowned author on stage. The author that opens his mouth to speak now, “Ah, shut your big fat mouths!” A startled laugh slips out of Rose’s mouth. 

The Doctor’s shoulder slump, “Oh, well.” Clearly Shakespeare had not lived up to his expectations. 

Marth patted his shoulder sympathetically, “You should never meet your heroes.” The Doctor nods but his eyes still haven’t left Rose.

The author continues, “You’ve got excellent taste, I’ll give you that. Oh, that’s a wig.” He points to a man in front of the stage. Rose laughs along with the crowd. Martha and the Doctor are silent. “I know what you’re all saying. Loves Labour’s Lost, that’s a funny ending, isn’t it? It just stops. Will the boys get the girls? Well, don’t get your hose in a tangle, you’ll find out soon. Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don’t rush a genius.” 

Suddenly Shakespeare spine straightens unnaturally. Rose leans closer with furrowed brows. _Why was he standing so strangely? “_ When? Tomorrow night. The premiere of my brand new play. A sequel, no less, and I call it Loves Labour’s Won.” _That doesn’t make any sense. He had just said that it wasn’t ready. How can you perform a play that’s not ready?_ Rose thinks. 

As they file out of the Globe Theatre the Doctor and Martha are still in deep conversation. Rose listens intently as Martha says, “I’m not an expert, but I’ve never heard of Loves Labour’s Won.”

The Doctor nods, “Exactly. The lost play. It doesn’t exist, only in rumors. It’s mentioned in lists of his plays but never ever turns up. And no one knows why.”

Marthe says, “Have you got a mini-disc or something? We can tape it. We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint.” Rose turns to look at her as the Doctor stops and scowls. They did not need another Adam on their hands.

“No,” the Doctor says firmly.

Martha grimaces and says, “That would be bad?”

“Yeah,” he tells her.

Martha changes the subject by asking, “Well, how come it disappeared in the first place?”

The Doctor tugged on his ear. Rose knew exactly what he was going to say before he said it. The Doctor could never resist a good mystery. “Well, I was just going to give you a quick little trip in the Tardis, but I suppose we could stay a bit longer.” Martha nods her head eagerly.

They only have to ask one person to find out where Shakespeare is staying. They make their way to the tavern known as the Elephant after receiving directions. 

Inside the tavern is full but the Doctor quickly finds his way to the authors room. They hear voices discussing the play from inside.

The Doctor pushes the door open and says, “Hello! Excuse me, not interrupting, am I? Mister Shakespeare, isn’t it?”

Shakespeare looks up from the papers spread across his desk. He frowns at the Doctor before saying loudly, “Oh, no. No, no, no. Who let you in? No autographs. No, you can’t have yourself sketched with me. And please don’t ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove…” He stops as he notices Rose and Martha standing in the doorway behind the Doctor. Instead of continuing with his sentence he says, “Hey, nonny nonny. You two lady’s can sit right down here next to me.” He waves vaguely before turning his attention to the two young men standing in the middle of the room. “You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go.” He waves them away.

A woman ways, “Come on, lads. I think our William’s found his new muse.” She smiles at Shakespeare before pulling the men out of the room.

“Sweet lady’s.” Martha, Rose, and the Doctor make their way further into the room. There are two chairs in front of the desk and directly across from Shakespeare. Rose leans against the desk next to the author. Martha sits in one of the chairs and the Doctor follows suit frowning. Something was troubling him and Rose doubted it was the mystery of the forgotten play. She wasn’t sure what was wrong though and she wasn’t about to ask in front of Shakespeare.

“Er, verily, forsooth, egads,” Martha says hesitantly and Rose stifles a very unladylike snort.

The Doctor waves his hand at Martha and says, “No, no, don’t do that. Don’t.” At this Rose can’t help but to laugh. Martha glares at her and Rose abruptly stops. 

The Doctor shuffles through his coat and pulls out the psychic paper. He tells Shakespeare, “I’m Sir Doctor of Tardis and these are my companions, Dame Rose Tyler and Miss Martha Jones. 

Shakespeare squints at the paper for a moment before turning to the Doctor and declaring, “Interesting, that bit of paper. It’s blank.”

The Doctor laughs, “Oh, that’s very clever. That proves it. Absolute genius.”

Martha looks at the paper herself and says, “No, it says so right there. Sir Doctor, Dame Rose and Martha Jones. It says so.”

Shakespeare haughtily says, “And I say it’s blank.”

The Doctor looks at Martha and explains, “Psychic paper. Er, long story. Oh, I hate starting from scratch.” He rubs at the back of his neck with a grimace on his face.

Shakespeare says, “Psychic? Never heard that before and words are my trade.” He furrows his brow. “Who are you exactly? More’s the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady and your golden girl?” He looks at Martha and Rose before looking back at the Doctor.

Martha interrupts, “What did you say?” It is clear by the outrage in her voice that she did not like his words.

Shakespeare looks confused, “Oops. Isn’t that a word we use nowadays? An Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric?”

Martha mumbles, “I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”

The Doctor groans and says, “It’s political correctness gone mad. Er, Martha’s from a far-off land. Freedonia. And so is Rose.” 

There is loud noise from outside before the door is slammed open and a pretentious man steps through. “Excuse me! Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mister Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed.”

Shakespeare sighs before responding. “Tomorrow morning, first thing, I’ll send it round Lynley,” he promises. 

This answer is clearly not good enough for the man because he announces, “I don’t work to your schedule, you work to mine. The script, now!”

“I can’t,” Shakespeare says defeat clear in his voice.

Lynley is clearly pleases by this news. He smiles and says viciously, “Then tomorrow’s performance is cancelled.”

The quiet girl that Rose had almost missed abruptly leaves the room. Rose watches her confused. Most people would stay and watch the drama unfold. So where is this girl going?

Martha asks, “It’s all go around here, isn’t it?”

“I’m returning to my office for a banning order. If it’s the last thing I do, Love’s Labours Won will never be played.” Lynley spins on his heel and marches back down the stairs.

Martha sighs and sits back in her chair looking disappointed. “Well then, mystery solved. That’s Love’s Labours Won over and done with. Thought it might be something more, you know, more mysterious.” The Doctor also looks dissapointed before his face brightens when he hears a scream come from outside.

Someone yells, “Help me!” The four of them run out to investigate the cause of the screaming. Lynley is kneeling and water is spewing out of his mouth sporadically. Rose stops where she is when she notices.

Martha gasps, “It’s that Lynley bloke.”

The Doctor narrows his eyes. “What’s wrong with him? Leave it to me. I’m a doctor.”

The Doctor runs to Lynley and Martha follows saying, “So am I, near enough.”

Lynley collapses completely and Martha kneels beside him saying, “Got to get the heart going. Mister Lynley, come on. Can you hear me? You’re going to be all right.” She attempts to start CPR but water gushes out of Lynley’s mouth. “What the hell is that?”

The Doctor kneels across from her and says something Rose can’t quite hear.

Rose looks around for anything suspicious. The young girl from before stands quietly to the side. There is no emotion on her face. 

The Doctor suddenly calls, “Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humors. A natural if unfortunate demise. Call a constable and have him taken away.”

“Yes, sir.”

The young girl steps forward and says, “I’ll do it, ma’am” before leaving. Rose watches and notices a small smile on her face. _Odd_ , Rose thinks. _Why is she smiling? Is she involved?_

The Doctor and Martha have a short conversation. But Rose doesn’t notice that. Her attention follows the young girl. There is something strange about her and it makes Rose uncomfortable.


	11. The Shakespeare Code Part 2

They sat in Shakespeare’s room once more. The woman whose name Rose had learned was Dollys tells the Doctor, “I got you a room, Sir Doctor. You, Miss Jones, and Dame Rose are just across the landing. There’s only one bed I’m afraid but it’s the only room I have to spare.”

She looks regretful so Rose puts a hand on her shoulder and says, “Thank you,” with as much sincerity as she can muster. She was not looking forward to sharing a room with Martha and the Doctor but they would make it work.

Dolly tells her, “I left some night clothes for you and Miss Martha on the bed.”

As Dolly leaves Rose hears Shakespeare say, “Poor Lynley. So many strange events. Not least of all, this land of Freedonia where a woman can be a doctor?”

Martha looks proud and replies, “Where a woman can do what she likes.”

“And you Dame Rose?”

Rose laughs lightly and says, “What about me?”

“There is something off about you. Something wolflike.” At his reply Rose straightens and her smile disappears. Not many people made the connection between Rose and Bad Wolf. Before it had sacred her but now… Things were different. Bad Wolf had made it possible for her to travel with the Doctor for forever.

Shakespeare turns to the Doctor and says, “And you, Sir Doctor. How can a man so young have eyes so old?”

The Doctor hums absently and replies, “I do a lot of reading.”

Shakespeare nods. “A trite reply. Yeah, that’s what I’d do.” He turns back to Marth. “And you? You look at him like you’re surprised he exists. He’s as much of a puzzle to you as he is to me.” He looks at Rose. “But you don’t. You look at him as if you know him.”

Martha shakily replies, “I think we should say goodnight,” while Rose stares at the writer. It was true. She knew the Doctor. Just like he knew her. Martha quickly exits the room.

Shakespeare looks down at the piles of papers in front of him. “I must work. I have a play to complete. But I’ll get my answers tomorrow, Doctor, and I’ll discover more about you and why this constant performance of yours.”

The Doctor quotes at him, “All the world’s a stage.”

Shakespeare hums thoughtfully, “Hmm. I might use that. Goodnight, Doctor.

The Doctor waves at the writer before taking Rose’s hand and leading her out of the room. “Nighty night, Shakespeare.”

XX

In the small bedroom Rose and Martha got dresses. Rose faced the door as she unlaced the front of her over dress. She wasn’t expecting for Martha to start a conversation with her so she startled quite badly when Martha spoke.

“Hey, Rose?” Martha says, quietly.

Rose responds with a small hum.

Her hands still from where they are struggling with the knot on her dress when Martha asks her, “Are you and the Doctor… together?”

Rose’s heart started to pound in her chest. Everyone always asked them that. But this time Rose knew that Martha wasn’t asking because she thought they made a cute couple. No, Martha was asking because she was interested in the Doctor. The very thought made unwanted tears spring in Rose’s eyes.

She didn’t want to think about the Doctor being with someone who wasn’t her. As unfair as that was to him. And as selfish as it made Rose. Rose had always wanted the Doctor all to herself. Even though, the Doctor wasn’t interested in her that way. No matter what Jack used to tell her back when they were traveling with Doctor with big ears and leather. Or what Mickey would tell her every time they came to visit. Rose couldn’t believe that he would want to be with her.

Maybe once she had, but that was before he had tried to send her away all those times. Before Madame de Pompadour. Back then she could believe that the Doctor wanted her as more than a friend.

“Rose?”

Rose shook the thoughts away, “Uh, no. The Doctor and I aren’t together.” Rose soke the words shakily.

“Oh, good.” Rose could hear the happiness in Martha’s voice and it crushed her heart. “It’s just you two are so close so I wasn’t sure.”

“Yeah,” Rose managed to utter before forcing her hands to move again. She quickly undressed and put on the nightgown Dolly had left out for her. Rose practically drowned in the thing but Rose didn’t mind.

She looked over her shoulder to check if Martha was ready but Martha was already brushing passed her and opening the door to allow the Doctor in. He stepped in with an upset look on his face. Rose wondered briefly what had upset him before moving to the bed and perching on it.

It was the only bed in the rather small room. A chair sat in the corner next to the small window that allowed the moonlight into the room. The bed itself was big enough for Martha and Rose to lay on it comfortably. They wouldn’t have a ton of extra room but they wouldn’t have to cuddle.

Rose knew from experience that the Doctor wasn’t very likely to sleep tonight. He very rarely slept and Rose never saw him sleep when there was a mystery to be solved.

“So, who’s going where? I mean, there’s only one bed,” Martha asked the Doctor.

“We’ll manage. Come on.” Martha followed Rose to the bed but looks disappointed. Rose knew that she was likely hoping to share a bed with the Doctor. But there was no way she could let that happen even if the Doctor did sleep. It would hurt to much.

The Doctor closed the door behind him and dragged the chair closer to the bed before sitting on it. He lifted his legs and placed them on the bed. His feet brushed Rose’s and she hid a small smile.

Martha looked hesitant for a moment before asking, “So, magic and stuff. That’s a surprise. It’s all a little bit Harry Potter.”

The Doctor got this reminiscent look on his face that always made Rose smile. What right did he have to be so gorgeous? “Wait till you read book seven. Oh, I cried.”

“For a week,” Rose confirmed. Rose remembered that. While the Doctor had originally protested her reading or watching anything out of order from her timeline Rose had managed to convince him to relent. They had read all the books together.

It had become something of a habit started with her first Doctor. Rose and the Doctor would pick a book and the Doctor would read it aloud to her while they snuggled on the couch in the library. Thye hadn’t done that since Canary Wharf though. Rose missed hearing his gentle voice guide her to sleep.

The Doctor stuck his tongue out at her. Rose laughed and rolled her eyes. “Real mature. Who’s the older one here?”

“But is it real, though? I mean, witches, black magic and all that, it’s real?” Martha interrupted the Doctor before he could reply. Rose felt a moment of irritation with Martha but she quickly shoved it away. Martha didn’t deserve Rose’s anger.

The Doctor sneered and responded as though the mere thought offended him, “‘Course it isn’t!”

“Well, how am I supposed to know? I’ve only just started believing in time travel. Give me a break.” Martha’s tone was offended but she was smiling like she knew the Doctor being condescending was just another part of the adventure.

“Looks like witchcraft, but it isn’t. Can’t be,” the Doctor mused aloud. Rose’s mind was running through the possibilities. While she had not seen nearly as much as the Doctor had Rose had still seen her fair share of impossibilities. Her mind kept wandering back to the girl.

“There’s such a thing as psychic energy, but a human couldn’t channel it like that. Not without a generator the size of Taunton and I think we’d have spotted that.” Rose briefly thought of the London Eye and how the Doctor had very clearly missed that. “No, there’s something I’m missing, Martha. Something really close, staring me right in the face and I can’t see it.”

Rose decided to voice her thoughts, “You mean like the London Eye? You should have noticed that and did you?” The Doctor paused his ramblings to look at Rose. He kept staring at her so Rose continued, “You know this all started when Will was announcing his play.”

“It’s Will now?” the Doctor mutters but Rose ignores him.

“This obviously has something to do with him. And then there was that girl…”

The doctor interrupted her rudely, “What girl?” He was still staring at Rose with that same fond look. As if, she was the most amazing thing in the universe. Which wasn’t anywhere close to the truth because if anyone in this room was going to be the most amazing thing in the universe it was the Doctor.

“The girl. I don’t know her name. She was in the room with us with Shakespeare. And then she was in the courtyard, too. Except…” Rose trailed off with an uncertain twist of her lips.

“Except,” the Doctor questioned.

“She didn’t look scared.” Rose paused. “I mean anything that looks like witchcraft scares everyone around here. Everyone out there looked terrified. But not her. She almost looked… happy.”

The Doctor sat back in his seat with a deep breath. Clearly he was going over everything Rose had told him. Rose and Martha remained quiet to allow him to think.

He turned his head and smiled at Rose in a way that made her breath hitch. “Rose,” he told her softly. “You are a genius.” Rose was finding it harder and harder to breathe with the Doctor looking at her like that and talking to her in that voice. Rose felt her cheeks color.

“Anyways,” Martha coughed.

“Right,” the Doctor startled. “I’ll take you back home tomorrow. For now, bed.”

“Great,” Martha muttered and blew out the candle on her bedside table. The room was encased in darkness.

XX

Hours passed and Rose still lay awake staring at the ceiling. The Doctor hadn’t shifted in his seat for several of those hours. His feet were still propped up on the bed near her legs. The position couldn’t have been very comfortable but he continued to sit the there as still as a statue.

Rose could see the faint outline of him from the moonlight and she could hear Martha’s light breathing from beside her. But Rose wasn’t tired.

Eventually Rose felt the Doctor’s feet retreat from the bed. He placed them on the ground and stood. The Doctor pushed at Rose’s shoulder. He clearly wanted her to shift but there wasn’t that much room.

Rose shook her head at him hoping to deter him. It did nothing. Instead he leaned in close so that Rose could see his serious face. SOmething was bothering him and he wanted to talk. Rose thought it over before deciding to roll onto her side and scoot as far back as she could without disturbing Martha.

The Doctor laid on the small sliver of bed that had been revealed form him. They were pressed together tightly in an effort not to wake Martha who desperately needed sleep. After all she most likely hadn’t slept since before going to the hospital.

“What’s wrong?’ Rose whispered.

He stared at her for several long seconds before telling her, “I heard you and Martha speaking earlier.” Rose was confused for a second before remembering the brief conversation Rose and Martha had had while changing. The Doctor, mistaking her confusion for anger quickly followed his previous statement up with, “Not that I was eavesdropping. I just have really good hearing is all. Being a timelord and all.”

The Doctor stopped talking suddenly. Rose took the brief respite from his usual gob to think about the conversation he had brought up. Why was he mentioning it? Did he want to know if Martha was single as well? Maybe he really was interested in Martha like Rose had thought.

“I’m tired,” Rose blurts out the first excuse she could think of.

“Rose,” the Doctor frowns. But Rose turns so that she is facing the other way. The Doctor doesn’t say anything. She hears him sigh. He doesn’t move for several moments but eventually he gets off the bed and moves back to the chair allowing Rose to move away from Martha and lay more comfortably on the bed.

XX

Several hours later, Rose is awoken by a scream after what feels like just barely managing to fall asleep.

The Doctor is out of the room before Rose can even open her eyes. Martha sits up beside her and follows the Doctor. Rose is just behind her. The scream had come from Shakespeares room Rose realizes after following the commotion. When she enters the room the Doctor is kneeling beside a body. Rose stumbles back with a gasp. Dolly was laying on the ground, dead.

Her heart gave out. She died of fright.

“Doctor?” Martha calls out from beside the window. She is staring at something outside but Rose can’t see what it is.

The Doctor meets her by the window. “What did you see?”

“A witch,” Martha says. Rose blinks. That had not been what she was expecting.

The Doctor turns around. He looks at Rose confusion written all over his face.

Martha yawns and announces to the room, “Well, I’m still tired. We can talk about this in the morning, right?”

“Right you are, Martha Jones!” the Doctor shouts enthusiastically. Rose cringes at the loud noise before making her way to the chair across from Shakespeare. Despite being woken up after only a few hours of sleep Rose is not feeling tired at all. She hadn’t been tired when they had first gone to the room and after her nap she was feeling wide awake.

Martha brushes past two men as she exits the room, presumably heading back to the room.

“Are you alright?” Rose asks Shakespeare softly. He is still looking shaken.

“I’ll be fine,” he tells her with a small smile. Rose nods and pats his hand that rests on the desk comfortingly. The Doctor sits down in the chair next to Rose.

“Well, if you need anything at all just let me know,” Rose tells him hoping to make him feel better.

“Thank you, my dear.”

“Rose, you should probably get back to bed,” the Doctor interjects before Rose could respond.

Rose scowls at him before telling him, “I’m fine.”

“Rose.” He shoots her a warning look. “Sleep is important. And we have a mystery to solve tomorrow. I want you in tiptop shape so that you can point out all of the things that I miss.”

He smiles at her responding laugh.” Doctor, really, I’m fine. I’m not tired.”

The Doctor sighs before nodding his head in compliance to Rose’s wishes. Rose curls up in the chair as the Doctor and Shakespeare continue to talk in soft tones. She allows her mind to wander and before she knows it, she is falling asleep in the chair despite her precious statement. She really hadn’t thought she was all that tired.

She is briefly awoken when she is being pulled from the chair and into someones arms. The Doctor. Rose can tell by the way he smells. Like banana’s, something metallic, and something Rose can only describe as time.

Without a thought Rose snuggles closer to him. She loved being held by him. Vaguely, she heard someone say, “Don’t let that one go.” She’s not sure who they are talking to or what they are talking about so she allows her mind drift back into a deeper sleep.

XX

Rose wakes up to the rising sun peeking through the window. Beside her, Martha stirs but doesn’t waken. Rose slides off the bed and grabs her clothes that had been folded and neatly placed on the chair by the window.

She quickly dresses before kneeling beside Martha and shaking her arm hesitantly. “Martha,” Rose whispers. Martha stirs opening her eyes. “I think you should get ready. Don’t want the Doctor going stir crazy.

A laugh slips past Martha’s lips before she pushes herself into a sitting position. “Where is the Doctor?” Martha asks.

“I don’t know. Probably with Will,” Rose tells her. It’s the best she can figure after last night. Combined with the Doctor’s small obsession with the author that was the most likely place he would be.

Martha quickly gets dressed and follows Rose to said authors room. Sure enough Shakespeare sits behind his desk and the Doctor stands near the window.

Shakespeare looks up tiredly when the girls enter the room. “Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey. She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place when we all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so? She had such enormous spirit,” he mourns.

The Doctor quotes to him, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Shakspeare nods thoughtfully and replies, “I might use that.”

The Doctor shakes his head and responds, “You can’t. It’s someone else’s.”

Martha says, “But the thing is, Lynley drowned on dry land, Dolly died of fright, and they were both connected to you.” Isn’t that what Rose had said last night? Rose shook the thought away. It didn’t matter.

Shakespeare recoiled looking offended, “You’re accusing me?”

“No.” Martha shakes her head energetically, “but I saw a witch, big as you like, flying, cackling away, and you’ve written about witches.”

“I have? When was that?” Shakespeare scrunches up his face.

The Doctor comes up behind Martha and tells her quietly, “Not, not quite yet.” He’s not all that quiet because Rose can still hear him all the way across the room. She rolls her eyes. Subtlety is not the Doctor’s strong suit.

“Peter Streete spoke of witches,” Shakespeare mentions, offhandedly.

“Who’s Peter Streete?” Rose asks.

“Our builder. He sketched the plans to the Globe,” the author informs the room.

The Doctor’s face lights up in realization, “The architect. Hold on. The architect! The architect! The Globe! Come on!” He rushes out of the room. Rose, Martha, and Shakespeare scramble after him. Rose hitches her dress up as she races down the stares and out the door. The Doctor is already down the street. Rose huffs before taking off after him. She really hates these dresses. Not practical for their life style at all.

XX

The Doctor is in the center of the globe by the time Martha and Rose manage to make it there panting for breath. He is spinning around in circles trying to look everywhere at once. Rose stops and stares at him. He’s so freakin’ gorgeous.

The Doctor makes one last spin before turning to Shakespeare. “The columns there, right? Fourteen sides. I’ve always wondered, but I never asked. Tell me, Will. Why fourteen sides?”

Shakespeare shrugs and replies, “It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that’s all. Said it carried the sound well.”

The Doctor presses the heels of his hands to his forehead and mutters, “Fourteen. Why does that ring a bell? Fourteen.”

“There’s fourteen lines in a sonnet,” Martha offers. Rose is once again feeling out of her depth.

The Doctor nods considering her words, “So there is. Good point. Words and shapes following the same design. Fourteen lines, fourteen sides, fourteen facets.” He starts hitting his forehead hoping to spur some new ideas, “Oh, my head. Tetradecagon. Think, think, think! Words, letters, numbers, lines!”

Shakespeare inserts disbelievingly, “This is just a theatre.”

“Oh yeah, but a theatre’s magic, isn’t it? You should know. Stand on this stage, say the right words with the right emphasis a the right time. Oh, you can make men weep, or cry with joy. Change them. You can change people’s minds just with words in this place. But if you exaggerate that.” He trails off.

Martha says, “It’s like your police box. Small wooden box with all that power inside.”

The Doctor turns to Martha with a look on his face that breaks Rose’s heart. “Oh. Oh, Martha Jones, I like you. Tell you what, though. Peter Streete would know. Can I talk to him?” Martha smiles back at him, completely charmed.

“You won’t get an answer. A month after finishing this place, lost his mind,” Shakespeare tells the Doctor sadly.

“Why? What happened?” Rose asks, concerned.

“Started raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled,” he tells her. Something about that bothered Rose. The timing seemed to good.

The Doctor wasn’t about to give up. “Where is he now?”

“Bedlam,” Shakespeare responds, solemnly.

“What’s Bedlam?” Martha asks.

Shakespeare tells her, “Bethlem Hospital. The madhouse.” Whatever the madhouse was like in this time, Rose could tell it wasn’t going to be pretty.

The Doctor nods before making his way out of the Globe, “We’re going to go there. Right now. Come on.”

“Wait! I’m coming with you.” Shakespeare follows him, “I want to witness this at first hand.” He stops to give some instructions to two boy that had entered the Globe.

Rose hurries after the Doctor and Martha. Seconds later Shakespeare catches up to them. “So, tell me of Freedonia, where women can be doctors, writers, actors.”

Martha smiles at him. “This country’s ruled by a woman.”

“Ah, she’s royal. That’s God’s business. Though you are a royal beauty,” Shakespeare flirts.

Rose chuckles at the look on Martha’s face. “Whoa, Nelly. I know for a fact you’ve got a wife in the country.”

Shakespeare tells her in a low voice, “But Martha, this is Town.”

This time Rose laughs loudly, “Oh, you're as bad as Jack.”

The Doctor slows down enough to stand by Rose and tell her, “No one is as bad as Jack.”

“Are you sure?” Rose raises her eyebrows.

The Doctor doesn’t respond instead he turns to Shakespeare and says, “Come on. We can all have a good flirt later.”

Shakespeare turns his flirtatious voice on the Doctor and asks, “Is that a promise, Doctor?

The Doctor stops in his tracks and mumbles, “Oh, fifty seven academics just punched the air. Now move!” Rose has no idea what that is supposed to mean but she follows after him.


	12. The Shakespeare Code Part 3

When they enter Bedlam Rose gags on the smell of unwashed bodies. It is loud in here. People are yelling to be released or just yelling nonsense. It is dark and cramped and slightly damp. Looking around Rose is sick to her stomach. This is no way to treat people. They need proper help but there wasn’t anything she could do to help them.

A young man asks, “Does my Lord Doctor wish some entertainment while he waits? I’d whip these madmen. They’ll put on a good show for you. Mad dog in Bedlam.”

“No, I don’t!” The Doctor yells at him.

Rose pushes forward intent on giving him a piece of her mind, “You just gonna whip people, are ya? They are people, same as you! What gives ya the right to hurt ‘em? What they eva’ do to you? How would you like it? Maybe I should show ya how it feels!”

The man looks at her terrified stumbling back before responding, “Well, wait here, my lords, while I make him decent for the ladies.” He walks down the hallway looking over his should fearfully. Rose continues to scowl at him and he quickly turns around.

Rose breathes deeply and catches the Doctor staring at her with a wide smile on his face. Rose smiles back sheepishly. Sometimes Rose can get a bet riled up. Seeing people being mistreated has always pissed her off.

Ever since she can remember if someone was being mistreated Rose would interfere. It would always scare her mum. Mum would always say that Rose was going to interfere with the wrong people and end up getting herself killed. But rose couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

Martha is just as angry about the treatment of everyone in this so called hospital. Martha turns to Shakespeare and demands, “So this is what you call a hospital, yeah? Where the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry? And you put your friend in here?”

“Oh, it’s all so different in Freedonia,” Shakespeare retorts.

Martha looks betrayed. Here is one of her childhood heroes condoning something Martha can clearly tell is wrong. “But you’re clever. Do you honestly think this place is any good?”

Shakespeare tells her harshly, “I’ve been mad. I’ve lost my mind. Fear of this place set me right again. It serves its purpose.”

“Mad in what way?” Rose asks.

“You lost your son,” The Doctor tells him with sad eyes. Rose’s mind is drawn back to the olympics. He had told her that he had been a dad once. At the time she had been so shocked but now Rose can see how painful it must have been to lose his children. Did he have a son or a daughter? Or maybe both. Either way Rose knew that at this moment he was being reminded of what he had lost.

Shakespeare nods and says, “My only boy. The Black Death took him. I wasn’t even there.”

Martha looks down and says, “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” Rose rubs Shakespeare’s arm and offers him a sad smile.

Shakespeare smiles back at her gratefully. “It made me question everything. The futility of this fleeting existence. To be or not to be.” Surprise lights his face, “Oh, that’s quite good.”

The Doctor nods and tells him, “You should write that down.” Rose nods her head. This is one of the few quotes she recognized from Shakespeare.

Shakespeare frowns. “Maybe not. A bit pretentious?”

The Doctor shrugs but Rose tells him, “Nah, I like it.”

The man from before appears refusing to look at Rose. “This way, my lord!”

XX

They made their way inside Peter Streete’s small cell. Because that’s what it was. A cell. Rose didn’t think anyone could consider it to be a room.

Peter Streete sits hunched on his bed facing away from them. As the Doctor makes his way into the room, the man that led them back warns, “They can be dangerous, my lord. Don’t know their own strength.”

The Doctor glares at him and spits out, “I think it helps if you don’t whip them. Now get out!”

The man runs out closing the door behind him with a fearful look on his face.

The Doctor turns back to Peter and says in a softer voice, “Peter? Peter Streete?”

Shakespeare has a dissapointed look on his face. “He’s the same as he was. You’ll get nothing out of him.”

“Peter?” The Doctor crouches beside Peter and rests a hand on his shoulder cautiously. “Peter, I’m the Doctor. Go into the past. One year ago. Let your mind go back. Back to when everything was fine and shining. Everything that happened in this year since happened to somebody else. It was just a story. A Winter’s Tale. Let go. That’s it. That’s it, just let go.” He helps Peter lay down on the bed. Still using the same soft voice from before he says, “Tell me the story, Peter. Tell me about the witches.”

Rose jumps when Peters voice rasps out, “Witches spoke to Peter. In the night, they whispered. They whispered. Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. Their design! The fourteen walls. Always fourteen. When the work was done they snapped poor Peter’s wits.”

The Doctor asks, “Where did Peter see the witches? Where in the city? Peter, tell me. You’ve got to tell me where were they?” Rose inches towards the Doctor and Peter. She wants to comfort Peter but isn’t sure how.

Peter looks like he is struggling but manages to respond, “All Hallows Street.” _How fitting,_ Rose thinks.

A figure appears in the room suddenly and hisses, “Too many words.”

Rose stumbles back and hears Martha exclaim, “What the hell?”

“Just one touch of the heart.” The witch lifts a finger threateningly.

“No!” The Doctor lurches forward but the witch presses her finger to Peter’s chest and Peter goes still. Rose feels tears prickling in her eyes. At least Peter was at rest now.

“Witch! I’m seeing a witch!” Shakespeare exclaims.

The witch takes a step forward. “Now, who would be next, hmm? Just one touch. Oh, oh, I’ll stop your frantic hearts. Poor, fragile mortals.”

Martha runs to the door and starts yelling, “Let us out! Let us out!”

“That’s not going to work. The whole building’s shouting that,” the Doctor tells her that not taking his eyes away from the woman in front of them. He stands with his arms spread out slightly preventing the witch from getting to Rose who stands behind the Doctor.

The woman smiles creepily. “Who will die first, hmm?”

The Doctor shrugs and steps forward. “Well, if you’re looking for volunteers.” Rose’s heart lurches. _Bloody alien. Always sacrificing himself_ , Rose thinks.

Behind her Martha yells, “No! Don’t!”

“Don’t you dare,” Rose yells at the woman and steps forward wrapping her arms around the Doctor’s waist trying to pull him back. He stubbornly refuses to move but Rose doesn’t drop her arms.

“Doctor, can you stop her?” Shakespeare demands. His voice trembles.

The witch cackles and says arrogantly, “No mortal has power over me.”

The Doctor responds looking enlightened, “Oh, but there’s a power in words. If I can find the right one. If I can just know you.”

“None on Earth has knowledge of us.” Again her voice is arrogant.

The Doctor tells her, “Then it’s a good thing I’m here. Now think, think, think. Humanoid female, uses shapes and words to channel energy. Ah! Fourteen! That’s it! Fourteen! The fourteen stars of the Rexel planetary configuration! Creature, I name you Carrionite!”

The Carrionite screams and disappears. Rose feels her shoulder relax. Her arms drop from being around the Doctor as he turns around. Rose feels rage boils up and before she knows it she is hitting him and yelling, “You complete arse!” Tears burn Rose’s eyes as she continues, “You’re all I have left! What if she had killed you?”

The Doctor’s face falls as he wraps his arms around Rose pulling her to his chest and locking her arms between thier bodies. Rose continued to sob into his shoulder as he whispers, “I’m sorry, Rose. I’m sorry. I was going to let anything happen. I’m sorry.”

Martha and Shakespeare stand away from them quietly. Eventually Rose manages to calm herself down. She pulls away and wipes at her face messily.

“What did you do?” Martha asks looking between Rose and the Doctor unsure if she should interrupt them.

“I named her. The power of a name. That’s old magic.” The Doctor doesn’t look at Martha as he responds.

Martha laughs nervously. “But there’s no such thing as magic.”

The Doctor tilts his head to the side. “Well, it’s just a different sort of science. You lot, you chose mathematics. Given the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can split the atom. Carrionites use words instead.”

“Use them for what?” Shakespeare asks.

“The end of the world,” the Doctor responds ominously.

XX

Back in Shakespeare’s room at the Elephant the Doctor tells them, “The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe. Nobody was sure if they were real or legend.”

Shakespeare laughs and responds ironically, “Well, I’m going for real.”

“But what do they want?” Martha asks.

The Doctor says, “A new empire on Earth. A world of bones and blood and witchcraft.”

“But how?”

The Doctor sits in the chair across from Shakespeare and leans his elbows on his knees holding his head in his hands. “I’m looking at the man with the words.”

Shakespeare splutters, “Me? But I’ve done nothing.”

Martha shakes her head, “Hold on, though. What were you doing last night, when that Carrionite was in the room?”

“Finishing the play,” he tells them. The play definitely has something to do with whatever is going on.

The Doctor sits up straight and asks, “What happens on the last page?”

“The boys get the girls. They have a bit of a dance. It’s all as funny and thought provoking as usual. Except those last few lines. Funny thing is, I don’t actually remember writing them.” Shakespeare trails off, thoughtfully.

The Doctor snaps his fingers jumping to his feet. “That’s it. They used you. They gave you the final words like a spell, like a code. Love’s Labours Won. It’s a weapon. The right combination of words, spoken at the right place, with the shape of the Globe as an energy converter! The play’s the thing! And yes, you can have that.” The Doctor points to a building on a map spread across Shakespeares desk. “All Hallows Street. There it is. Martha, we’ll track them down. Will, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play.”

Shakespeare nods his head. “I’ll do it. All these years I’ve been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing.” He looks at the Doctor in awe.

Martha rolls her eyes and says, “Oh, don’t complain.” Rose has to laugh at that. If the Doctor met someone smarter than him he would definitely complain.

Shakespeare shakes his head looking pleased, “I’m not. It’s marvelous. Good luck, Doctor.”

“Doctor,” Rose shouts after him.

“What is it?” he frets looking her over.

“I’m gonna go with Will,” she tells him hitching a thumb over her shoulder.

He frowns at her and says, “Rose if this is about what happened earlier…”

Rose shakes her head, “It’s not. I jus think that someone should go with him. It’s better is we split up. Just don’t do anything stupid.”

He continues to frown before nodding his head and says, “I’ll see you later.”

“Not if I see you first,” Rose replies with her usual smile. He smile back.

“Good luck, Shakespeare. Once more unto the breach.” He points his finger into the sky and spins on his heel racing out of the room.

“I like that.” Shakespeare hums before calling outraged, “Wait a minute, that’s one of mine.”

The Doctor’s head pops back around the corner. “Oh, just shift.”

XX

Rose and Shakespeare hurry towards the Globe. Neither one of them speak. They are both focused on getting there and stopping the play as soon as they can.

As they turn the corner and onto the street that the Globe rests on neither one of them are aware of the conversation that the Doctor is carrying out with one of the Carrionite’s.

_“Your pink and yellow Rose.”_

As Rose’s name is mentioned Rose stumbles. Shakespeare turns back to her concerned, “Dame Rose, Are you alright?”

“Yeah. One second. You go ahead.” She waves him off. He looks back at her uncertainly. “Go. You have to stop the play,” Rose reminds him. He nods and runs to the globe.

Rose slides down one of the buildings. _Why am I so tired?_

She is still unaware when the Carrionite continues.

_“Strange. She, too, is outside of her time. But even stranger her power comes from somewhere else… Bad Wolf.”_

After that, Rose knows only darkness.

XX

The Doctor and Martha dash around the corner quickly in the hopes of getting to the Globe as quickly as possible. There was still hope that Shakespeare would stop the play from continuing but that hope was slowly dwindling away.

The Doctor skids to a stop when he notices a blonde woman seated against a wall with her head hanging down. He would recognize her anywhere. “Rose,” he gasps and runs to her and kneels beside her. Martha had stumbled to a halt several paces ahead of him. She joins him on Rose’s other side.

Martha quickly feels for a pulse at her neck. “Still alive,” Martha breathes a sigh of relief. As jealous as she was of the close relationship the blonde girl and the Doctor had, Martha didn’t want Rose to die. “What happened?”

“The Carrionite’s used her name,” the Doctor growled. He hated seeing Rose in any sort of peril. After the Carrionites had used Rose’s other name, he wasn’t sure how it would affect her.

“I don’t understand. I woke up pretty quickly after they used my name. Why isn’t Rose waking up now?” The thought that maybe Rose wasn’t as strong as she was crossed Martha’s mind. The thought made her happy before guilt stirred inside. Here Rose was passed out and all she could think about was being better than her. Martha had never been that kind of person before and she wasn’t going to allow some gorgeous alien to change that about her.

“They used both of her names,” the Doctor responded unaware of the thoughts spinning wildly in Martha’s mind.

“She has two names?”

The Doctor doesn’t respond. Instead he easily scoops Rose up and takes off to the Globe with Rose in his arms. Martha rolls her eyes hitching her skirts up and follows him.

In the back of the Globe Shakespeare lies on the ground. The Doctor sets Rose down gently before storming over to the writer.

The writer stirs and the Doctor yells angrily, “Stop the play. I think that was it. Yeah, I said, stop the play!”

Shakespeare rubs his head and tells him, “I hit my head.”

The Doctor nods sarcastically. “Yeah, don’t rub it, you’ll go bald. I think that’s my cue!”

The Carrionites yell from above, “Now begins the millennium of blood!”

The Doctor, Shakespeare and Martha run out onto the stage. The Globe is in a complete panic. People are running around and yelling. They are clearly frightened.

“The Doctor. He lives. Then watch this world become a blasted heath! (Macbeth) They come. They come!” One of the Carrionites hiss shocked by the Doctor’s appearance.

“Come on, Will! History needs you!” The Doctor yells.

Shakespeare stumble back, “But what can I do?”

“Reverse it!”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

The Doctor tells him urgently, “The shape of the Globe gives words power, but you’re the wordsmith, the one true genius. The only man clever enough to do it.”

Shakespeare shakes his head. “But what words? I have none ready!”

“You’re William Shakespeare!” the Doctor protests.

“But these Carrionite phrases, they need such precision.”

“Trust yourself. When you’re locked away in your room, the words just come, don’t they, like magic. Words of the right sound, the right shape, the right rhythm. Words that last forever. That’s what you do, Will. You choose perfect words. Do it. Improvise.” The Doctor has always had a way of making someone believe in themselves and it is no different this time.

Shakespeare nods and stands straighter. “Close up this din of hateful, dire decay, decomposition of your witches’ plot. You thieve my brains, consider me your toy. My doting Doctor tells me I am not! Foul Carrionite specters, cease your show! Between the points…” He looks at the Doctor for the correct points.

“Seven six one three nine oh!” the Doctor yells helpfully.

Shakespeare nods and says the points, “Seven six one three nine oh! Banished like a tinker’s cuss, I say to thee…” he trails off, uncertain of any words that would rhyme.

Martha runs forwards and yells the first word she can think of, “Expelliarmus!”

The Doctor smiles and parrots, “Expelliarmus!”

Shakespeare looks confused but copies the word nonetheless, “Expelliarmus!”

The Doctor is still grinning as he says, “Good ol’ JK!”

The Carrionites scream as they are banished. Shakespeares play follows suit. When the wind and chaos dies down the crowd begins to clap and cheer.

“Love’s Labours Won. There it goes,” the Doctor comments idly.

“They think it was all special effects?” Martha laughs disbelievingly.

Shakespeare turns to her with a roguish smile, “Your effect is special indeed.”

Martha grimaces and tells him, “It’s not your best line.” Shakespeare shrugs his shoulder uncaring.

XX

As the wind was dying down, Rose was awakening in the back room. She still feels week so she doesn’t try to stand. She looks around the room. _This is not where I passed out,_ Rose thinks idly. Just then the Doctor walks into the back room.

“Rose!” he yells and runs to her side.

“Doctor,” Rose breathes.

As she tries to stand up the Doctor says, “No, no. Don’t move.” Instead he slides down beside her. His arm goes around her should automatically as she leans into him.

“What happened?” Rose asks him

“The Carrionite named you. But because you are out of your time it only knocked you out,” the Doctor replies.

Rose laughs before saying, “Well, that’s nice to know. But I was more wondering about the play.”

The Doctor’s mouth forms an ‘O’. “Oh! Shakespeare banished them. They should be around here somewhere, trapped.”

He stands up and looks around them. Eventually he pulls out a crystal. Inside of the crystal are the three Carrionite’s clawing at the edges of the crystal hoping to get out.

He walks back over to her and kneels in front of her. “How are you feeling?” He presses his hand against Rose’s forehead. The gesture is so domestic that it startles rose for a moment and she almost forgets to reply.

“I’m just a bit tired. Let’s not stay here for another day. I want to sleep in my own bed. And we still have to drop Martha off.” Rose pushes herself to her feet despite the Doctor’s protests.

The Doctor frowns thoughtfully before looking at her. “I was thinking. Martha was brilliant today. And you know, this trip didn’t exactly go as planned.” rose cuts him off before he can go into a full on ramble. _God, he has a gob_ , Rose thinks while rolling her eyes.

“You want to take her on another trip,” Rose replies flatly folding her arms against her chest.

The Doctor shifts nervously, “Yeah. I was thinking we could do one trip to the past and one trip to the future. Even it out.”

Rose continues to stare at him before slumping her shoulders. If this was what he really wanted then who was she to stop him?

“That’s fine, Doctor,” Rose tells him, softly.

“Really!” He pops his head back up with wide eyes.

“It’s your ship,” Rose tells him.

His face falls. “It’s your home, too, Rose. If you don’t like somehting, tell me.” Rose nods. She really didn’t want Martha coming but she also could see that the Doctor really wanted Martha to come.

“I was thinking we could take her to New New York!” he tells her enthusiastically. Rose feels her stomach drop. New New York was one of her favorite places. She really wanted it to just be for them. And here he was talking about taking Martha there.

“New New York.” The protest slips out before rose can stop it.

The Doctor stops and looks at her. She knows that she looks defensive but she can’t seem to make herself relax. “What’s wrong with New New York?” he asks.

“Nothing,” Rose responds quickly. How could she tell him that while she had accepted that he was still the Doctor on the Sycorax ship, New New York was where she had realized she could still love him?

Relaxing with him on that apple grass field was one of Rose’s favorite memories. She had realized that even though he acted a little different, he was still the same man and Rose still loved him deeply.

“Are you sure?” he asks and Rose nods. Rose brushes past him and onto the stage where Martha and Shakespeare are standing very closely.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, oh great genius, but your breath doesn’t half stink,” Martha tells the writer. They back away from eachother as the Doctor enter the room. He is wearing a ruff around his neck and Rose stifles a laugh at how ridiculous he looks. He hears her and shoots a glare her way before laughing as well.

“Good props store back there. I’m not sure about this though. Reminds me of a Sycorax.” He lifts the skull of some kind of animal.

Rose gasps and says, “It does!”

Shakespeare says, “Sycorax. Nice word. I’ll have that off you as well.”

“I should be on ten percent,” the Doctor responds.

“As if you would carry money,” Rose teases. He makes a face back at her before turning to Shakespeare once more.

“How’s your head?”

“Still aching,” he tells the Doctor.

“Here, I got you this.” The Doctor removes the ruff from around his neck and hands it to the author. “Neck brace. Wear that for a few days till it’s better, although you might want to keep it. It suits you.”

“What about the play?” Martha asks.

The Doctor informs them, “Gone. I looked all over. Every single copy of Love’s Labours Won went up in the sky.”

“My lost masterpiece,” Shakespeare mourns.

“You could write it up again,” Martha suggests. Rose rolls her eyes. That was a bad idea waiting to happen. The play was the whole reason any of this happened. It was definitely not a good idea to have it written up again.

“Yeah, better not, Will. There’s still power in those words. Maybe it should best stay forgotten,” the Doctor cautions against it, frowning at Martha.

“Oh, but I’ve got new ideas. Perhaps it’s time I wrote about fathers and sons, in memory of my boy, my precious Hamnet,” Shakespeare says.

Martha furrows her brows and says, “Hamnet?”

Shakespeare nods. “That’s him.”

“Hamnet?” Rose wasn’t sure what had Martha so confused. Wasn’t Hamnet one of Shakespeare plays?

Shakespeare looks offended. “What’s wrong with that?”

The Doctor inserts, “Anyway, time we were off. I’ve got a nice attic in the Tardis where this lot can scream for all eternity, and I’ve got to take Martha back to Freedonia.”

“You mean travel on through time and space.” Shakespeare nods wisely. A started laugh escapes Rose’s mouth. Shakespeare really was a genius.

The Doctor’s face drops, “You what?”

“You’re from another world like the Carrionites, and Martha is from the future. It’s not hard to work out. Although I am not sure about you, Dame Rose. One who is so quiet is hard to figure out.” Rose frowns. She’s not usually one to be labeled as quiet. But lately she hasn’t been feeling very useful.

Before Rose can respond the Doctor says excitedly, “That’s incredible. You are incredible.”

“We’re alike in many ways, Doctor,” the writer tells him before turning to Martha, “Martha, let me say goodbye to you in a new verse. A sonnet for my Dark Lady. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.” Martha gapes at him as he recites a poem. Even the Doctor’s eyebrows raise. Rose decides right then and there that she is going to read more Shakespeare because she has no idea what has Matha so flustered.

Shakespear is interrupted by some of his actors rushing into the room. “Will! Will, you’ll never believe it. She’s here! She’s turned up! We’re the talk of the town. She heard about last night. She wants us to perform it again.”

Martha furrows her brows, “Who?”

One of the actors turns to her breathless, “Her Majesty. She’s here.” A queen enters the Globe closely followed by some guards.

The Doctor grins and says, “Queen Elizabeth the First!” The smile is quickly washed off his face by the words that leave the queens mouth.

“Doctor?” _This can’t be good,_ Rose thinks. But it doesn’t end there. Instead the queen turns to her and says, “and his temptress Rose?”

“What?”

A scowl sets onto the queens face. _Definitely not good_ , Rose thinks. “My sworn enemies. Where is the other one?!” _The other one?_

The Doctor looks dissapointed, “What?”

“Off with their heads!”

“What?” He continues to stand gaping at the queen.

Martha yells, “Never mind what, just run! See you, Will, and thanks.”

“Stop that pernicious Doctor and his wife!” They are to far away to hear that last part as they are already out the Globe and down the road.

As they run to the Tardis Martha demands, “What have you done to upset her?”

The Doctor laughs and responds, “How should I know? Haven’t even met her yet. That’s time travel for you. Still, can’t wait to find out.” They make it to the Tardis and all three of them stumble in breathlessly.

Rose turns to him and giggles, “Something to look forward to." The Doctor smile back at her and slams the door. An arrow thuds into the door moments after.


	13. Bedtime

“Alright,” Rose announces, “I’m headed to bed.” She climbs the stairs of the Tardis quietly.

“Me, too,” Martha agrees yawning.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Rose tells her with a smile before making her way to her very pink bedroom. She enters the room and leans against the door tiredly. 

Her room is a mess as per usual. Rose had never been a very tidy person. She had told the Doctor that she was tired and that was true but Rose didn’t think she could sleep without him by her side. 

Hoping to pass the time, she begins to pick up her bedroom floor. She pulls the blankets up the bed and throws all of the pillows to the head of the bed. The dirty clothes are thrown into the hamper in her closet that is through her en suite. And she hangs up her clean clothes.

Bending down to pick up a couple of mascara’s that had dropped to the floor, Rose notices a photo album half lying under her bed. She shoves the mascara’s into a cup on her white dressing table. The dressing table is in dire need of reorganization but Rose ignores it in favor of picking up the photo album. 

She plops onto her bed holding the album gently. Just looking at it brings tears to Rose’s eyes. It is an album from her childhood. Her mum had put it together as rose grew up. It had pictures from all of Rose’s birthdays and Christmas’s and every other milestone her mum had deemed in need of being marked.

Rose hadn’t even opened the book and she was already a blubbering mess. She sets the album back on the bed, wiping harshly at her cheeks. She hastily stands and makes her way to the bathroom.

In the en suite, Rose looks in the mirror. Mascara runs down her cheeks in ugly streaks. She quickly quickly undresses and moves to the shower. Turning it as hot as she can stand it before hopping into the shower. 

The water burns her as it runs down her back but it is a nice distraction from her previous thoughts. 

The water won’t ever run hot so eventually Rose forces herself to leave the shower and get dressed into some loose flannel pajama’s. They aren’t very flattering but Rose is looking to impress anyone. 

She stops in her tracks when she notices the Doctor casually resting on her bed with the photo album resting on his legs. He is flipping through the album at a leisurely pace. “What are you doing?” Rose blurts out.

“I, um, I was just making sure you got to bed alright,” the Doctor stutters. _Why?_ Rose almost asks her question out loud but she doesn’t want him to leave and if she asked that he would definitely get defensive and scramble off to hide somewhere. Instead she smiles at him slowly.

“I, I can leave if you want.” His hand reaches up to nervously tug at the hairs at the back of his neck.

“No, no.” The words tumble out of Rose’s mouth. “Stay.”

The Doctor relaxes back into Rose’s pillows. Rose watches for a minute before making her way to her dressing table. Her Tardis blue hairbrush rests in the middle. The Doctor had got it for her from a small village on Asaria they had helped save. The aliens there had insisted that they repay the Doctor and Rose. The Doctor had seen the hairbrush and insisted that that was all he wanted for their troubles.

The hairbrush was supposed to make detangling hair easier and last for an incredibly long time. Rose didn’t agree with the detangling part but Rose had almost had it for a year and it still looked brand new.

As she harshly yanked the brush through her hair the Doctor carefully stood from the bed. She didn’t notices him as he came up behind her and took the brush from her hand. Her eyes snapped up to look at him through her picture covered mirror.

He smiled at her gently and started to brush her hair in a much gentler motion than Rose had. He started from the bottom and made his way up. _Ok, maybe the detangling does work. Just not for me_ , Rose thinks.

She doesn’t feel any pain as the Doctor brushes her hair. She continues to watch him as he brushes her hair eyes intent upon his task. Rose nearly whines in disappointment when he sets the hairbrush down.

The Doctor catches Rose’s eyes in the mirror. Time around them seems to slow. It’s times like this that Rose can almost convince herself that he feels the same for her as she does for him. When he looks at her with that soft look in his eyes all Rose can think about is kissing him.

The Doctor leans down and kisses the crown of her head. “You should get to bed.” Rose nods but continues to sit on her small stool placed in front of her changing table.

At long last, Rose manages to push herself to her feet. She goes to her large pink bed and removes the pillows she had placed there before. She tosses them onto the floor before folding the blankets back and climbing under the covers.

The Doctor lays down above the covers after kicking his shoes off and removing his suit jacket and tie.

Rose watched him for what could have been minutes or hours but eventually she drifted off. The Doctor continued to lay with her for hours as she dreamed. He soothed her anytime it seemed like a nightmare was becoming particularly bad.

XX

In the morning, when Rose woke up she was alone. She felt rested and hadn’t had any nightmares that she could remember. There was a rather obvious Doctor shaped outline on the other side of the bed. Rose frowned. If the Doctor had stayed until Rose fell asleep, then the indent should have been gone by now. But it wasn’t. And that suggested… Rose shook the thoughts away. 

_Maybe he had just been tired and had fallen asleep by accident_ , Rose reasoned to herself. No way had the Doctor stayed with her the whole night on purpose.

She got dressed before heading to the galley for some breakfast. Disappointment filled her at the emptiness of the room. Usually the Doctor and her would have breakfast together. But he wasn’t there.

Rose sighed and made herself some toast and tea before sitting at the table. She wasn’t sure where Martha or the Doctor were at but she was sure they would turn up eventually.

But when they still hadn’t shown by the time Rose had finished her breakfast she decided to look for them herself. She found them in the console room, talking. “Just one trip. That’s what I said. One trip in the Tardis, and then home. Although I suppose we could stretch the definition. Take one trip into past, one trip into future. How do you fancy that?” The Doctor smiled.

Martha smiled back. “No complaints from me.”

The Doctor looked at her and asked mysteriously, “How about a different planet?”

Martha looked thrilled and the question that she asked next broke Rose’s heart. “Can we go to yours?” Her hearts clenched for her Doctor. She knew how painful for him that question was.

“Ah, there’s plenty of other places.” Avoidance tactics. _Why hadn’t he just told Martha the truth?_

Martha pushed, “Come on, though. I mean, planet of the Time Lords. That’s got to be worth a look. What’s it like?”

“Well, it’s beautiful, yeah,” the Doctor hedged looking uncomfortable. 

Martha’s face lit up as Rose’s heart continued to hurt. “Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?”

“I suppose it is.” Another lie. _He’s making it sound like it’s still there,_ Rose realized. When Rose had asked the Doctor about his home planet he hadn’t lied to Rose about it at all. He had just avoided talking about it before giving in.

Martha looked even more excited. “Great big temples and cathedrals!”

The Doctor nodded vaguely. “Yeah.”

Martha waved her arms around. “Lots of planets in the sky?”

The Doctor doesn’t reply at first. He continues to stare at the Time Rotor as he responds, “The sky’s a burnt orange, with the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow.”

Martha asks breathlessly, “Can we go there?” Rose’s heart clenches once more for her Doctor so she loudly enters the room. The Doctor looks at her with relief written all over his face.

He looks back at Martha. Composing himself he says, “Nah. Where’s the fun for me? I don’t want to go home. Instead, this is much better. Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth. Second hope of mankind. Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we’re slap bang in the middle of New New York.”

He looks at Rose and says teasingly, “Although, technically it’s the fifteenth New York from the original, so it’s New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built.”

“That joke wasn’t funny the first time,” Rose mutters. The Doctor recoils offended but Martha doesn’t hear her. Instead she nods her head in agreement to the Doctor’s suggestion. 

Rose quickly makes her way to the railing to hold on for the bumpy ride. 


	14. Gridlock

Once they land the Doctor and Martha walk out ahead of Rose. They happen to walk out into rain. Martha looks annoyed as Rose laughs. The Doctor squints and looks towards the skies with a smile.

“Oh, that’s nice. Time Lord version of dazzling,” Martha mutters glaring at Rose who was still dry and in the Tardis. As Rose makes her way to the doors she notices her jacket resting on a bit of coral.

Rose grabs it mumbling a thanks and patting the coral. She doesn’t put it on. Instead she follows Martha’s example and holds it above her head.

“Nah, bit of rain never hurt anyone. Come on, let’s get under cover!” The Doctor races off in search of a dry spot. Martha hurries after him. Rose closes the door and follows after them.

“Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me, on a Wednesday afternoon,” Martha complains to him once they find a small alcove that was dry.

The Doctor shakes his head saying, “Hold on, hold on. Let’s have a look.” He pulls out his sonic screwdriver and uses it on a screen that is set into a wall.

A woman appears on the screen saying, “And the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway.” The picture flicks away from the lady to a view that Rose recognizes.

“Oh, that’s more like it. That’s the view we had last time.” Rose nods her head and Martha scowls. “This must be the lower levels, down in the base of the tower. Some sort of under-city.” 

Martha turns the scowl on the Doctor and says, “You’ve brought me to the slums?”

The Doctor nods his head happily, “Much more interesting. It’s all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city.”

Martha laughs shaking her head. “You’d enjoy anything.”

“That’s me.” The Doctor smiles back.

“That is not true,” Rose interrupts.

The Doctor pouts. “Name one thing that I don’t enjoy.”

The Doctor’s pout drops into a grimace as Rose responds without having to stop and think about it. “Pears.”

The Doctor’s face continues to make a disgusted face. “You don’t like pears?” Martha laughs.

“Their disgusting,” the Doctor complains. “And I don’t think that’s what she meant, Rose.” He points a finger at her knowingly. “Ah, the rain’s stopping. Better and better.”  
MARTHA: When you say last time, you two have been here before? 

The Doctor pauses before saying, “Er, yeah.” Martha rolls her eyes and stomps off. “What’s wrong?” The Doctor looks to Rose for help but she just shakes her head at him and follows Martha.

One of the stall doors suddenly springs open, nearly hitting Martha. “Oh! You should have said. How long you been there? Happy. You want Happy.” More stalls open up around them.

“Customers. Customers! We’ve got customers!” Someone announces happily. “We’re in business. Mother, open up the Mellow, and the Read.”

Around them each of the sellers begin to vie for their attention. Rose looks every which way trying to understand what they are talking about.

“Don’t go to them. They’ll rip you off. Do you want some happy?” the man that had nearly hit Martha asks the Doctor.

“No, thanks,” the Doctor tells him.

Martha stumble back to the Doctor and asks, “Are they selling drugs?”

“I think they’re selling moods,” the Doctor corrects.

“Same thing, isn’t it?” Rose nods her head in agreement. This couldn’t be good. A young girl appears. She is dressed in rags and is hunched over. She looks so miserable that Rose follows her. With a new victim in sight the pharmacists start to yell for her attention instead.

“I want to buy forget,” Rose hears as she walks up behind the girl.

“I’ve got Forget, my darling. What strength? How much do you want forgetting?” The pharmacist smiles in faux sympathy and pats her hand.

The girl tells her, “It’s my mother and father. They went on the motorway.”

The shakes her head and says, “Oh, that’s a swine. Try this. Forget Forty three. That’s two credits.” The girl hands over the credits and take the small plastic patch. To Rose it looked like a sea sickness patch from her time.

The Doctor comes up behind Rose and stops the girl. “Sorry, but hold on a minute. What happened to your parents?”

“They drove off,” she tells them sadly.

“Yeah, but they might drive back,” Rose protests.

The girl shakes her head, “Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I’ve lost them.”

“But they can’t have gone far. You could find them. No. No, no, don’t.” He tries to stop her from placing the patch but it is too late. The young girls face immediately falls into one of bliss.

She looks at them and smile pleasantly, “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

“Your parents. Your mother and father. They’re on the motorway,” Rose reminds her gently.

The girl continues to smile as she says, “Are they? That’s nice. I’m sorry, I won’t keep you.” She brushes past them and out of the alleyway.

“So that’s the human race five billion years in the future. Off their heads on chemicals,” Martha scowls. 

“It wasn’t like this last time,” Rose reassures her. Neither the Doctor or Rose are looking at her though. A man grabs Martha from behind. Hearing the struggle Rose and the Doctor turn towards her. A woman points a gun at Rose and the Doctor and they are forced to halt their advances.

The man says, “I’m sorry, I’m really, really sorry. We just need three, that’s all.”

The Doctor looks outraged as he yells, “No, let her go! I’m warning you, let her go! Whatever you want, I can help. Both of us, we can help. But first you’ve got to let her go.” 

“Please we can help you,” Rose tries to get them to listen. Whatever they need, Rose and the Doctor could help them if they would only let Martha go and talk to them.

The woman shakes her head and doesn’t lower the gun, “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. Sorry.” They drag Martha through a door. Rose races to the door but it is locked.

The Doctor unlocks it using his sonic screwdriver but when they make it through the door the new street is deserted.

The Doctor storms back to where Martha was taken in full Oncoming Storm mode. It’s at times like this that Rose is reminded of just how terrifying he can be. Rose knows that he would never hurt her but she still worries for any one that might anger him.

“Thought you’d come back. Do you want some happy Happy?” One of the pharmacists asked. 

“Those people, who were they? Where did they take her?” the Doctor demanded.

“They’ve taken her to the motorway,” the pharmacist told him scared.

“Looked like carjackers to me,” interjected a pharmacist.

“I’d give up now, darling. You won’t see her again.” Another one added.

The first one nodded and added, “Used to be thriving, this place. You couldn’t move. But they all go to the motorway in the end.”

The Doctor shook his head and said, “He kept on saying three, we need three. What did he mean, three?”

“It’s the car-sharing policy, to save fuel. You get special access if you’re carrying three adults.”

“This motorway. How do I get there?” he asked.

One of the pharmacists pointed down the alley, “Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You canna miss it.”

“Rose, I need you to go back to the Tardis.” Rose opened her mouth to protest. “Don’t argue. I’ll be faster on my own and I don’t know how bad this motorway is. I need you to be safe.”

Rose closed her mouth, staring at him with hurt. _He would be faster on his own? Did he think I would slow him down? Had I slowed him down before?_

“Tell you what. How about some happy Happy? Then you’ll be smiling, my love, one of the Pharmacist’s cajoled. 

Rage took over the desperate look on the Doctor’s face. “Word of advice, all of you. Cash up, close down and pack your bags.”

The Pharmacist shook her head. “Why’s that, then?”

The Doctor yelled furiously, “Because as soon as I’ve found her, alive and well. And I will find her alive and well. Then I’m coming back, and this street is closing tonight!” With those parting words he stormed off leaving Rose behind. 

She continued to stare down the alley long after he was gone.

XX

Back on the Tardis Rose sat down on the jump seat dejected. He didn’t want her to go with him. Yeah, she knew he wanted her safe but when had anything in thier lives ever been safe before. Danger was a part of their lifestyle.

The Tardis was eerily quiet without the Doctor there. 

She sat there for nearly half an hour before sighing and walking to her room. Once there she sat on her bed, shoulders slumped. _Was this going to become a habit? The Doctor not wanting her help?_

She laid on her bed for another half an hour hardly blinking. This was becoming unbearable fast. The Doctor’s hatred for sitting still was starting to rub off on Rose. She was itching to be moving. 

With a sigh Rose pushed herself to her feet. Moving. She needed to move. Exiting her room, Rose decided that if she couldn’t leave the Tardis she could at least still explore.

She took off in a random direction trailing her fingers along the walls of the Tardis. She wasn’t looking for anything in particular instead she wanted to find something new. The first time she passed the console room, she ignored it. The second time, she thought it was a weird coincidence. The third time, she actually stopped in her tracks and peered into the room hoping to see… something.

The room was empty though. No one was there and nothing was out of place. “What do you want?” she asked looking at the time rotor. The Tardis couldn’t answer using words but for the longest time Rose had been able to sense what the Tardis wanted from impressions. 

She walked into the console room cautiously. She felt something like a nudge pushing her closer to the console. Rose shook her head. “I don’t understand. What do you want?” Something like irritation flashed through her. That hadn’t come from her.

Rose stepped even closer to the console and irritation was replaced by happiness. “Do you need me to do something?” Rose asked. She knew next to nothing about the console. The Doctor had shown her a few buttons over the years. But she had only ever messed with any buttons when he was around. After all, if she pressed the wrong button it could be really bad.

Irritation pressed into her again. Ok, so not that. After several minutes, she felt the Tardis trying to communicate with her again. It wasn’t an emotion this time. No, instead it was like an idea. But the idea was so crazy that Rose was certain she was imagining it.

She shook her head but the thought stayed. She worked up the courage to ask the Tardis, “You… want me to fly you?” Excitement that was not her own coursed through her, shocking and sudden but not unpleasant.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she laughed. “I can’t fly you.” A sharp hum of disagreement pushed into her mind. “That’s crazy. I don’t the first thing about flying a Tardis.”

Instead of answering she felt another push. It wasn’t strong and Rose didn’t stumble from the light shove. However, her hand lifted slightly. “You want to guide me?” An even stronger wave of excitement coursed through her.

“This is crazy,” Rose said but didn’t try to dissuade the Tardis any further. She knew if she continued protesting the Tardis might stop trying. And if Rose was being honest, flying the Tardis sounded fun. If she could learn to fly the Tardis then the Doctor and her could fly it together. 

The Doctor had always told her that the Tardis was meant to be flown by more than one person but because there wasn’t anyone left to help him, he had to fly her by himself. The thought always seemed to sadden him and if Rose could do anything to make it better she would.

The Tardis guided her through the motions of getting ready for take off. It was a lot simpler than Rose thought it would be. She didn’t know how to set coordinates even if she could read the writing on the screen. But the Tardis reassured her that she would help set them.

Rose laughed as the Tardis took off. She was actually flying the Tardis. The thought made her stomach clench in excitement and nervousness all at once. _What is she messed up?_ She shook the thoughts off. Now was not the time to be thinking such thoughts. Besides the Tardis was helping her. She could do this.

XX

“Doctor?” Martha calls out when she makes it to the Senate. 

The Doctor rounds the corner and notices Martha, “Over here.” He gestures over his shoulder. Just as Martha is about to follow the loud grating sound of the Tardis fills the room. Wind kicks up papers before the Tardis appears.

Martha and the Doctor gape at it before the Doctor rushes forwards and slams the door open. Rose is standing at the console chewing on her thumb nail nervously.

When the door opens, Rose slowly turns to look at them. Her hair hangs loosely in her face. Martha and the Doctor stop just after entering. Martha looks between the Doctor and Rose. Rose continues to bite her thumb but the Doctor stares at her wide eyed and… scared, Martha realizes. She had never seen him scared before.

“Hi,” Rose whispers. That seems to shock the Doctor out of his staring. He runs up the steps and is at Rose’s side in the matter of seconds.

“Rose…” his tries to continue several times before managing to spit out the words, “How did you do that?”

“I… don’t know. I think the Tardis helped. I was tired of waiting and the Tardis kept insisting that she would help,” Rose explains around her thumb.

The answer does nothing to comfort the Doctor. The last time Rose had flown she had pulled the heart of the Tardis into her mind. Rose had nearly burned at the time. He lifts his hands towards her head. “May I?” Rose nods and the Doctor delves into her mind gently. Martha continues to watch all of this silently.

Once the Doctor was satisfied with the state of Rose’s mind he pulled away from Rose, trying to ignore her clear disappointment.

The Doctor stared at her. “You were tired of waiting?” he whispered harshly before shaking his head. “Nevermind. We’ll talk about this later.”

After that he stormed back out of the Tardis. Rose watched as Martha followed after him eagerly. She pushed the tears back before following the both of them.

She walked slowly with her head bent down. She lifted her eyes only to gasp in shock. “The Face of Boe,” she breathed.

Martha who is further ahead and didn’t here Rose asks the Doctor, “What’s that?”

“It’s the Face of Boe. It’s all right. Come and say hello.” The Doctor walks closer to the Face of Boe before pointing to the cat nun standing to the side. “And this is Hame. She’s a cat. Don’t worry. He’s the one that saved you, not me.”

Hame speaks up, “My lord gave his life to save the city, and now he’s dying.”

The Doctor looks at her and protests, “No, don’t say that. Not old Boe. Plenty of life left.”

The Face of Boe speaks into their minds, startling Martha. “It’s good to breathe the air once more.”

Rose walks closer as Martha asks, “Who is he?”

“I don’t even know. Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn’t that right? And you’re not about to give up now.” The last time Rose had seen the Face of Boe had also been the first and only other time. At the end of the world. The Doctor had seen him at the hospital but Rose had been a bit preoccupied being possessed by Cassandra.

“Everything has its time. You know that, old friend, better than most,” the Face of Boe spoke to the Doctor.

“The legend says more,” Hame but in.

The Doctor stood from his crouch by the Face of Boe and shook his head. “Don’t. There’s no need for that.”

Hame continued, “It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveler.”

“Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?” Rose said. She didn’t want Boe to die. She felt like she knew him from somewhere. “You just hold on.”

“I have seen so much. Perhaps too much,” he told her. Rose shook her head with tears running down her face. The Face of Boe turned to the Doctor and said, “I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours, Doctor.”

“That’s why we have to survive. Both of us. Don’t go,” the Doctor pleaded.

The Face of Boe said, “I must. But know this, Time Lord. You are not alone.” With those words the Face of Boe stilled and Rose felt a shudder go through her. The words had seemed hopeful but Rose felt a sense of foreboding slide through her.

XX

In the Tardis the Doctor piloted them back to where they had originally landed. Rose stayed seated as the Doctor and Martha shut the businesses down. 

Finally, after what felt like hours to Rose the doors opened again. The Doctor walked in looking tired and Martha followed smiling.

Rose sank further in to the jump seat as the Doctor turned to look at her. Martha looked between them before announcing that she was going to bed and she would see them in the morning. Rose didn’t reply to her as she was intently studying the grating of the Tardis. 

“Goodnight, Martha Jones,” the Doctor replied softly for the both of them.


End file.
